Background Most epidermal cells used in skin tissue engineering are obtained from the skins of fetuses or prepuces,which can not be widely used in culturing and transplanting autologous epidermis for patients with extensive burnwounds.To solve the problem,in this study,we cultured epidermal cells from different parts of human body in vitro,anddetected their growth activity.Methods Normal epidermal cells obtained from the prepuce,scalp,and axilla of male patients,were cultured andpassaged.Their growth characteristics including adherent rate and growth activity were compared.Data were analyzedby homogeneity test of variance.Results In primary culture,the growth of epidermal cells from the prepuce was significantly faster than that of theepidermal cells from the scalp and axilla.In the cells obtained from the prepuce,80% confluence was achieved on day12,while on day 16 and day 20 in the cells from the scalp and axilla,respectively.However,no significant difference wasdetected in their growth and proliferation in the second passage.Conclusions Although the growth of epidermal cells obtained from the scalp and axilla is slower than that from theprepuce in primary culture,stable cell line can be established and used in preparation of auto-epidermal grafts forpatients with extensive burn wounds.Therefore,the scalp and axillary skin should be considered as important sources ofepidermal cells other than the prepuce.Chin Med J 2007;120(16):1444-1447 Background Most epidermal cells used in skin tissue engineering were obtained from the skins of fetuses or prepuces, which can not be widely used in culturing and transplanting autologous epidermis for patients with extensive burn wounds. To solve the problem, in this study, we cultured epidermal cells from different parts of human body in vitro, anddetected their growth activity. Methods Normal epidermal cells obtained from the prepuce, scalp, and axilla of male patients, were cultured andpassaged.Their growth characteristics including adherent rate and growth activity were compared.Data were analyzedby homogeneity test of variance. Results in primary culture, the growth of epidermal cells from the prepuce was significantly faster than that of the epidermal cells from the scalp and axilla. the cells obtained from the prepuce, 80% confluence was achieved on day 12, while on day 16 and day 20 in the cells from the scalp and axilla, respectively. However, no significant difference wasdetected in their gro wth and proliferation in the second passage. Conclusion Although the growth of epidermal cells was obtained from the scalp and axilla is slower than that from theprepuce in primary culture, stable cell line can be established and used in preparation of auto-epidermal grafts for patients with extensive burn wounds.Therefore, the scalp and axillary skin should be considered as important sources of epidermal cells other than the prepuce. Chin Med J 2007; 120 (16): 1444-1447