ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To compare the morphological difference between dermal tissue of normal skin and that of scar in rat, and to explore its structural pattern.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The full-thickness skin and the scar tissue formed 3 weeks after wound healing from SD rats were harvested as samples, which were prepared appropriately afterwards. Samples were scanned and imaged with synchrotron radiation technology, micro-CT, and phase-contrast imaging technology. The images were rebuilt with three-dimensional software.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The micro-CT was materialized by using X-ray generated by synchrotron radiation light source. The structure of dermal tissues was clearly shown with the assistance of phase-contrast imaging technology in the process. It was demonstrated that the dermal tissues of normal skin of rat were mainly composed of collagenous fibers, which twined together to form an olive-like structure. These olive-like structures as basic units were arranged randomly in a certain way. The collagenous fibers in dermal tissue of the scar were arranged in a parallel manner, while some fibers were crooked and arranged in a disorderly manner.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Dermal tissue of normal skin in rat has stable three-dimensional structure, and its basic structure and manner of composition are obviously different from those of scar dermal tissue.</p>