Figure 3

Chicken skin with feathers. The skin from a 53-day old white Leghorn chicken, was harvested, fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde, and embedded in paraffin. Sections were stained with hematoxylin, eosin, saffron. (A) Skin region with a feather follicle. Feather follicle (1 to 6); skin (7 to 9): 1, feather follicle; 2, cornified cells; 3, epidermal collar; 4, dermal papilla; 5, axial blood vessel; 6, Feather pulp; 7, Dermis of the skin; 8, stratum germinativum of the skin; 9, stratum corneum of the skin. (B) A growing feather: 1, feather pulp; 2, axial blood vessel; 3, barbs; 4, feather sheath; 5, stratum corneum (follicle); 6, stratum germinativum (follicle); 7, Dermis; 8, muscle feather. Bar, 100 μm. (Pictures kindly provided by T. Larcher).