Langerhans cells of the interfollicular epidermis and external root sheath epithelium of the hair follicles of the normal human skin and in death caused by freezing
The skin obtained from 50 cadavers of the individuals of both sexes who died as a result of general cooling was studied during a post-mortem examination in Vitebsk District Administration of The State Medical Forensic Expertise Service (Byelorussia). As the control, the skin of 10 people who died in car accidents and for other reasons, not associated with the effect of cold, as well as the skin samples taken from 10 healthy volunteers, were studied. Langerhans cells (LC) of the epidermis and hair follicle epithelium were studied using the ATPase reaction. LC structure under normal condition is described in detail. It was shown that these cells were localized in the suprabasal layer of the epidermis and of the epithelium of the external root sheath of the hair follicles. LC were forming contacts with one another by their long processes. In individuals who died as a result of general cooling, the number of LC was decreased both in the epidermis and in the epithelium of the external root sheath of the hair follicles and these cell underwent marked degenerative changes.