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Original Article Plastic and Aesthetic Research

Morphometry of subcutaneous fat lobules

of the abdomen and its implication in

obesity

Arvind K. Pandey , Pramod Kumar , Kodavoor Shrinivas Aithal , Rama Kotian Sushma ,
2,3
4
1
1
Antony Sylvan D’Souza 1
1 Department of Anatomy, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal University, Manipal, Udupi 576104, Karnataka, India.
2 Department of Plastic Surgery, King Abdulaziz Specialist Hospital, Sakaka 42421, Al-Jouf, Saudi Arabia.
3 Department of Plastic Surgery and Burns, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal 576104, Karnataka, India.
4 Department of Physics, MIT, Manipal University, Manipal, Udupi 576104, Karnataka, India.
Address for correspondence: Dr. Pramod Kumar, Department of Plastic Surgery, King Abdulaziz Specialist Hospital, Sakaka 42421, Al-Jouf,
Saudi Arabia. E-mail: pkumar86@hotmail.com

ABSTRACT
Aim: The subcutaneous fat in the lower abdomen (LA) is more resistant to resorption as compared to
the upper abdomen (UA). Males and females have variability in fat deposition and resorption in the
abdominal region. Hence, there could be a difference in morphology of fat cells of these regions. The
present study aims to identify the differences in morphology of subcutaneous fat lobules of upper and
LA. Methods: Subcutaneous fat samples were collected from upper and LA of 40 cadavers (33 males
and 7 females). The shape, the arrangement, and the color of superficial and deep subcutaneous fat
lobules were observed. The height and width were recorded for larger fat lobules. Results: There was
a difference in the color, shape, size, and arrangement of the fat lobules between the two locations.
Height (P = 0.042) and width (P = 0.008) of deep subcutaneous fat of LA were significantly larger than
the UA in males while the height of superficial fat (P = 0.016) was significantly larger in LA than the
UA in females. Height of the deep fat of UA (P = 0.018) and width of deep fat of the LA (P = 0.020) were
significantly larger in females as compared to males. Conclusion: There was a significant difference
in the morphology of the superficial and deep subcutaneous fat based on location and gender of the
patient.

Key words:
Abdomen, morphometry, obesity, resorption, subcutaneous fat

INTRODUCTION Subcutaneous tissue constitutes 85% of total adipose
tissue mass and visceral fat constitutes the remaining
[8]
The development of liposuction and lipectomy in 15%. Subcutaneous fat in adults is called white fat and its
reconstructive surgery has enhanced interest in the study quantitative distribution is variable in different sexes. [9,10]
of superficial fascia and subcutaneous fat deposits of the There are two distinct types of subcutaneous fat: superficial
abdomen. [1‑3] Furthermore, a strong relationship exists and deep. The superficial fat exists between the skin
[8]
between obesity, insulin resistance, and cardiometabolic
risk factors. [4‑7] This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License, which allows others to remix,
Access this article online tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as the author is credited
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Website: For reprints contact: reprints@medknow.com
www.parjournal.net
How to cite this article: Pandey AK, Kumar P, Aithal KS, Sushma RK,
D'Souza AS. Morphometry of subcutaneous fat lobules of the abdomen
DOI: and its implication in obesity. Plast Aesthet Res 2015;2:286-9.
10.4103/2347-9264.165443
Received: 05-12-2014; Accepted: 12-01-2015

286 © 2015 Plastic and Aesthetic Research | Published by Wolters Kluwer - Medknow