Dallas, Texas From the Department of Plastic Surgery and the Office of Quality Improvement and Safety, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.
Plast Reconstr Surg. 2014 May;133(5):615e-622e. doi: 10.1097/PRS.0000000000000100.
Anatomical studies show that facial fat is partitioned into distinct compartments, with the nasolabial fat pad in a superficial compartment and the deep medial cheek fat in a deep compartment. Gross morphologic differences may exist between these fat depots, but this has never been established at the cellular level.
Adipose tissue specimens from nasolabial fat and deep medial cheek fat pads were obtained from 63 cadaveric specimens (38 female and 25 male cadavers) aged 47 to 101 years (mean, 71 years). Thirty-seven cadavers had a normal body mass index (≤25 kg/m) and 26 cadavers had a high body mass index (>25 kg/m). Cross-sectional areas of individual adipocytes were calculated digitally and averaged from histologic sections of the adipose tissue samples.
The average adipocyte size of nasolabial fat is significantly (p < 0.0001) larger than that of deep medial cheek fat. The average adipocyte size in both nasolabial and deep medial cheek fat is significantly (p < 0.0001) larger in subjects with high compared with low body mass index. Although the overall average adipocyte size is significantly (p < 0.0001) larger in female than in male subjects, this sexual dimorphism is lost in the nasolabial fat depots of overweight subjects and in the deep medial cheek depots of normal-weight subjects.
The significantly smaller adipocyte size in deep medial cheek fat relative to nasolabial fat in elderly subjects supports the theory that deep and superficial facial fat pads are morphologically different. Future investigation of the metabolic and structural properties of these fat compartments will help us understand the different patterns of volumetric facial aging.
解剖学研究表明，面部脂肪分为不同的隔室，鼻唇脂肪垫位于浅层隔室，深层内侧颊脂肪位于深层隔室。这些脂肪库之间可能存在明显的宏观形态差异，但这从未在细胞水平上得到证实。
从 63 例尸检标本（38 名女性和 25 名男性）中获得鼻唇脂肪垫和深层内侧颊脂肪垫的脂肪组织标本，年龄 47 至 101 岁（平均 71 岁）。37 例尸检标本的体重指数正常（≤25kg/m），26 例尸检标本的体重指数较高（>25kg/m）。通过数字计算和对脂肪组织样本的组织学切片进行平均，得出单个脂肪细胞的横截面积。
鼻唇脂肪的平均脂肪细胞大小明显大于深层内侧颊脂肪（p<0.0001）。无论体重指数高低，鼻唇和深层内侧颊脂肪的平均脂肪细胞大小均明显大于高体重指数者（p<0.0001）。尽管女性的平均脂肪细胞大小明显大于男性（p<0.0001），但这种性别差异在超重者的鼻唇脂肪库和正常体重者的深层内侧颊脂肪库中消失。
与老年受试者的鼻唇脂肪相比，深层内侧颊脂肪的脂肪细胞明显较小，支持深层和浅层面部脂肪垫在形态上不同的理论。未来对这些脂肪隔室的代谢和结构特性的研究将有助于我们了解面部体积老化的不同模式。
