Question:
The photograph shows a permanent tattoo on the skin. In which layer of the skin is the tattoo pigment chiefly deposited and retained?
The photograph shows a permanent tattoo on the skin. In which layer of the skin is the tattoo pigment chiefly deposited and retained?
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The epidermis keeps shedding - permanence means the ink must sit one layer deeper.
Updated On: Sep 3, 2026
- Dermis
- Stratum corneum of the epidermis
- Subcutaneous fat
- Deep fascia
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The Correct Option is A
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: Understand how a tattoo is made.
A tattoo needle introduces insoluble pigment particles by puncturing through the epidermis and depositing ink in the dermis.
Step 2: Why the dermis retains the pigment.
Epidermal cells are constantly shed and renewed (turnover ~4 weeks), so any pigment left in the epidermis would be lost. In the dermis, pigment is engulfed by dermal macrophages and fibroblasts and held within a stable connective-tissue matrix, giving the tattoo its permanence.
Step 3: Forensic relevance.
Because pigment lies in the dermis, tattoos are useful for identification of the dead and can persist even after superficial decomposition; the pigment may also be traced to regional lymph nodes.
Step 4: Why the other options are wrong.
• The stratum corneum/epidermis sheds continually, so pigment there would not persist.
• Subcutaneous fat and deep fascia are deeper than the needle’s working depth and are not the site of deposition.
Key fact: Tattoo pigment is permanently lodged in the dermis.
A tattoo needle introduces insoluble pigment particles by puncturing through the epidermis and depositing ink in the dermis.
Step 2: Why the dermis retains the pigment.
Epidermal cells are constantly shed and renewed (turnover ~4 weeks), so any pigment left in the epidermis would be lost. In the dermis, pigment is engulfed by dermal macrophages and fibroblasts and held within a stable connective-tissue matrix, giving the tattoo its permanence.
Step 3: Forensic relevance.
Because pigment lies in the dermis, tattoos are useful for identification of the dead and can persist even after superficial decomposition; the pigment may also be traced to regional lymph nodes.
Step 4: Why the other options are wrong.
• The stratum corneum/epidermis sheds continually, so pigment there would not persist.
• Subcutaneous fat and deep fascia are deeper than the needle’s working depth and are not the site of deposition.
Key fact: Tattoo pigment is permanently lodged in the dermis.
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