Abstract

In a study designed to examine the histological differences in the rate of development at various body sites of Nigerian foetal goat skin, bearing in mind that adult structure, which is ultimately convertible to leather, is formed from foetal development, it can be summarized that: (1) Contact with embryonal amniotic fluid could be a decisive factor in the enlargement of the epidermal cells of the early foetuses; and subsequent flattening due to keratinization. (2) The clear demarcation of the epidermis from the dermis depends on the level of interaction between the former and the latter. During the stages of direct interaction, clear-cut separation of the two might not be expected. (3) The uneven appearance of the hair follicle initiation in the early stages of development indicated the possibility of unequal histodifferentiation. (4) Blood vessels, found in the latter stages of development, were observed to be transformations of earlier blood islands, which in themselves are embryonal characteristics. (5) Messenchyme connective tissue, formed the matrix of the dermis in the three groups studied. Unequal histodifferentiation, again, resulted in the uneven pattern of dermal fibre formation.