Light micrograph of the skin epidermis, the outermost layer of skin, cut in cross-section. The skin epidermis contains squamous cells (light purple) arranged around papillae (pink circles) that are protrusions of the underlying connective tissue into the epidermal layer. Since the papillae are roughly cylindrical in shape, they appear as circles when cut in cross-section. Haematoxylin and eosin stained tissue section. Magnification: x200 when printed at 10cm wide.