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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2013 Apr 1.
Published in final edited form as: Anal Bioanal Chem. 2012 Feb 4;403(1):15–26. doi: 10.1007/s00216-012-5725-0

Figure 2.

Figure 2

Diagram of the epidermal desquamation process [9]. Humans shed approximately billions of cells per day. Each skin flake is the product of a program of differentiation that ends on easily-detachable corneocytes. As desquamation occurs, dead skin cells settle slowly in the air providing an unexploited opportunity to obtain biochemical information unique to their source from aerosolized samples.