Anatomy of normal skin vasculature
The skin receives vascular sup- ply through superficial and deep vascular plexuses in the dermis (Fig. 12.1). These plexuses constitute anatomic landmarks in skin histology—the superficial vascular plexus marks the junction between the papillary and reticular dermis, whereas the deep vascular plexus separates the reticular dermis from subcutaneous fat (Lever). The superficial plexus is made up of anastomosing small-caliber arterioles that branch into capillaries, which extend into dermal papillae to sup- ply the overlying epidermis, as well as envelop adnexal structures. The deep plexus is made up of medium-caliber vessels, which emanate from larger vessels that traverse the adipose septae of the subcutis. Addition- ally, the deep plexus connects with the superficial vascular plexus through vertically oriented vessels.