Spiral sweat ducts in skin on the sole of a foot

Polarised light micrograph of a section of skin on the sole of a foot. This sample is from a vintage prepared slide from the period pre-1900 and was sold by the firm Watson and Sons. Dermal and epidermal layers of the skin, spiral sweat ducts and underlying muscle and frothy adipose tissue are visible here. This sample is likely to have been obtained from a human cadaver based on the anatomical structures seen, the age of the slide, and the frequent use of human cadaver material in other Watson slides of the same period. It is however possible that the tissue was obtained from a monkey or ape. Composite of 19 individual images stitched together. Horizontal width of image is 6 mm.