Blood Vessels

Blood vessels are very abundant, forming close-set capil­lary networks and loops immediately under the epidermis, especially in the papillae, and more open networks elsewhere;  but no blood vessel passes  into the epidermis. Lymphatic vessels and lymphatic capillaries are abundant in the dermis, being connected here as in other regions of the body with smaller "lymph spaces."
The consideration of the nerves of the skin will be de­ferred until we come to deal with the skin as an organ of sense; for though some of the cutaneous nerve fibres are efferent fibres distributed to the blood vessels, and probably to the sweat glands and other structures not directly connected with the sense of touch, by far the greater number are afferent fibres beginning in the distinct tactile organs, or otherwise serving as sensory structures.