[Changes in the elastic fibers of the skin in rats after long-term motor loading and immobilization]

The histologic changes were followed up that took place in the elastic fibers of the skin of a total of 30 female rats of the Wistar line at the initial age of 45 days. The animals were kept under the conditions of enhanced or lowered locomotor activity. It was found that as functional elements in the particular layers of the skin the elastic fibers altered considerably their specific morphologic characteristic under the effect of a varying loading the body with muscular activity. The skin of those of the animals that were loaded with enhanced locomotion presented a strongly developed hyperplastic net of elastic fibers of considerable thickness and density. On the other hand, the skin of the animals that were immobilized showed atrophic and reduction processes involving the elastic tissue; in such case the characteristic structure and network arrangement were only presented by sporadic fibres and bundles. The changes seen in the structure and organization of the elastic tissue once again demonstrated the importance of the higher or lower functional loading of the body with physical work for the development of hyper- or hypotrophic processes in the various tissues and organs.