This slide shows a long, irregular strip of pigmented human skin. At low power, the dark purple-brown epidermis is most obvious along the lower and right edges of the section, while a much broader pink dermis fills the centre of the slide. The upper and left borders are mainly cut surfaces of dermis, so the surface epithelium is not continuous all the way around the tissue.

The epidermis forms a thick, folded band of keratinised stratified squamous epithelium. Its base is not flat: downward epidermal ridges interlock with upward dermal papillae. A dense dark brown line of melanin is visible along much of the basal and lower spinous part of the epidermis, especially around the sides and tips of the epithelial folds.

At higher power, the living epidermis contains many layers of polygonal cells with dark purple nuclei. The deepest cells are more crowded and darker near the pigmented basal layer, while the cells nearer the surface become flatter. The outer stratum corneum appears as pale purple, wavy sheets of keratin; in several places it has lifted away from the nucleated epidermis, creating clear white separation spaces.

Immediately beneath the epidermis, the papillary dermis is paler and more delicate, with small vessels and scattered dark fibroblast nuclei. Deeper in the slide, the reticular dermis is the dominant feature: thick pink bundles of collagen run in many directions, giving the tissue a dense, swirling appearance. Small vessel profiles and elongated connective-tissue nuclei are present, but hair follicles, glands and subcutaneous fat are not prominent in the inspected section.

The key recognition pattern is the combination of a keratinised surface, a darkly pigmented basal epidermis, folded epidermal ridges with dermal papillae, and a thick collagenous dermis underneath. Some pale clefts in the dermis, detached keratin at the surface, torn edges and grey spots in the background are preparation or scanning artefacts rather than normal skin structures.