ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to systematically provide anatomic data for flap research in plastic surgery on the cutaneous blood vessels. Seven scent pigs used in this study were killed anesthetically, and their carotid vessels were intubated and injected with a black liquid rubber. Twenty-four hours later, the integument of the scent pig was removed, and the perforating points of the cutaneous vessels were recorded. The different-sized pieces of integument became transparent. Part of this transparent skin tissue was cut into cross-sectional strips. There were three types of the cutaneous vascular source, the same as in humans. Six division levels of vessels in the skin were identified, which formed five vascular plexuses and two systems (the perforating vessel system and the cutaneous vessel system). There were two sets of vein systems: the concomitant vein and the oscillating vein; the latter can be divided into regular and irregular types. The structures of the perforating vessel system and the cutaneous vessel system were the morphological basis for choosing flaps. Two anatomic points have been emphasized: the preserved vascular plexus in thin flaps (not the subcutaneous vascular network reported previously) and the dependency of vascular structure on its location. Otherwise, this study has also provided two new kinds of flaps used in experimental study: the arterial loop flap and the intermuscular septal perforator flap. Although there were differences as well as similarities in skin vasculature between humans and the scent pig, the scent pig is still suitable for flap research.
