Figure 8.

Diagram of the collagen fiber orientation determined from VOCT measurements made on living skin under an applied strain of 5%. When stretched, the collagen fibers attempt to align with the load direction while the cellular tension provides a force to balance the axial fiber forces. When the external load is removed, the cellular tension restores the skin shape by providing a retractile force. Under normal physiologic conditions the collagen fibers are more randomly oriented in the plane of the skin. When the cellular tension is lost, circular defects assume the elliptical orientation determined by the collagen fibers shown in Figure 8.