Lasers in surgery and medicine
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Qualitative and quantitative gross histopathologic studies of skin damage were performed at 48 hours after irradiation with a 2.0 microm thulium CW laser to determine the mechanisms of laser effects in the skin under various exposure conditions. ⋯ A sequence of damage endpoints was defined in the skin as power increased. By choosing rate process coefficients to match specific mechanisms of lethal thermal damage, the optical-thermal-damage model is capable of predicting various types of thermal injury in the skin, such as epidermal necrosis, vascular thrombosis, and dermal collagen coagulation.