Where is subcutaneous tissue

This fat is called visceral fat. A subcutaneous injection is an effective method of injecting medications. People use injection sites on the outer surface of the upper arm, top of the thigh, and the area of the abdomen surrounding the belly button to administer subcutaneous injections. Anyone administering a subcutaneous injection must avoid placing the needle into the muscle.

Injecting into the subcutaneous layer allows the body to absorb the drug slowly. The slow absorption rate is because compared with muscle, the subcutaneous tissue has far fewer blood vessels. Any substance injected into this layer is absorbed far slower than if someone injected it into the muscle. Any medicine injected using the subcutaneous route must be a water-soluble, non-irritant drug administered in small quantities of up to 2 milliliters.

Subcutaneous injections have some drawbacks. People may experience abscesses, which are areas of pus under the skin. Anyone who needs frequent injections may experience an accumulation of fat under the skin called lipohypertrophy. People can avoid this by varying the injection site, as it typically happens when an individual has multiple injections in the same area. Anything that penetrates the upper layers of skin can damage the subcutaneous layer. As the subcutaneous layer is the deepest skin layer, conditions that damage it can sometimes be severe.

Burns have different classifications according to how deeply they penetrate. The two classifications of burns that affect the subcutaneous layer are third degree and fourth degree burns. Third degree burns destroy the entire epidermis and dermis and may impact the subcutaneous tissue. These burn sites may appear either white or blackened.

Fourth degree burns enter the subcutaneous layer and may go even deeper. These types of burns may involve the bones and muscles. Since this burn type destroys all the nerve endings in the subcutaneous layer, a person does not have feeling at the burn site.

An abscess is a pocket of pus that can form anywhere in the body, often in the subcutaneous layer of skin. Pus forms from fluid, WBCs, debris, and dead bacteria. The surrounding area becomes swollen, inflamed, and painful. If someone has prolonged pressure on their skin due to lying in bed or using a wheelchair, they could develop a pressure ulcer. These skin injuries, also called pressure sores or bedsores, can affect the skin and potentially the subcutaneous layer if they are severe.

People can develop a tumor , such as a sarcoma , in the subcutaneous layer if there is an uncontrolled growth of cells. Unlike many other types of tumors, people can easily see these masses, and doctors can examine them to see how firm and mobile they are, which helps with diagnosis.

These tumors can be benign or malignant. Panniculitis is an umbrella term for a variety of diseases concerning subcutaneous tissue. The signs of panniculitis include inflammation in the subcutaneous layer and possible scarring of the subcutaneous tissue. Samples were paraffin-embedded, stained and analysed with a binocular microscope taking x 1 photographs.

Specimens were also excised and fixed after subcutaneous injection of Indian ink, after mechanic tissue splitting and after performing artificial skin folds. Results: The aspects of the deep parts of the skin greatly varied according to their anatomic localisation. Below the adipose tissue, we often found a lamellar fibrous layer which extended from the interlobular septa and contained horizontally distributed fat cells.

No specific tissue below the hypodermis was observed. Artificial skin folds concerned either exclusively the dermis, when they were superficial or included the hypodermis, but no specific structure was apparent in the center of the fold. This fat helps protect the deep structures in your body like your muscles and organs from changes in temperature and absorbs shock to underlying structures.

The subcutaneous layer plays a number of other roles, such as:. Subcutaneous fat refers to body fat stored in your subcutaneous tissue. This fat is stored in adipocytes fat cells that are separated by connective tissue.

Subcutaneous fat is one of three types of fat in your body. You also have essential fat in your bones, nerves, and organs, as well as visceral fat in your abdominal cavity. Many types of medications can be delivered via subcutaneous injection. Medications injected into your subcutaneous layer are absorbed more slowly than when injected directly into a blood vessel. Subcutaneous injection is widely used for drugs that need to be continuously absorbed or given in low doses.

These injections are a highly effective option for delivering vaccines , insulin , or growth hormones. Common sites for a subcutaneous injection include:. Burns that reach your subcutaneous layer are known as third-degree burns. These burns often leave a charred and white wound. Third-degree burns are a medical emergency and need prompt medical attention.

Panniculitis is a group of conditions that causes inflammation of your subcutaneous fat. Panniculitis causes painful bumps of varying sizes under your skin.

There are numerous potential causes including infections, inflammatory diseases, and some types of connective tissue disorders like lupus. An abscess is a bump filled with pus and other fluid beneath your skin.

Subcutaneous abscesses are often caused by a bacterial infection after a traumatic injury. A medical professional usually treats an abscess by making an incision and draining it. Both benign and cancerous tumors can form in the fat, connective tissue, or blood vessels of subcutaneous tissue. According to the American Cancer Society , there are more than 50 types of cancerous tumors that can form in soft tissue. Facial aging is partially caused by loss of the subcutaneous fat content in your skin.