Light micrograph of a section through skin from a human finger. The top layer of the epidermis is the stratum corneum (purple). It is comprised of dead, keratinised flattened skin cells, which are continuously sloughed off and replaced with new cells from the living layer, the stratum germinativum (violet) below. Beneath this is the thicker dermis (orange), a layer of fibrous connective tissue that supports and nourishes the epidermis. Magnification: x100 when printed at 15cm wide.