The extracellular material in the contact area between the epidermal layer and the dermis is the basement membrane. This thin layer gives the epidermis a firm attachment to the underlying connective tissues.
The basement membrane consists of two parts,
- the basal lamina which consists of collagen and glycoproteins that have been secreted by the basal cells in the epidermis and
- the reticular lamina, a layer similar in composition to the basal lamina but with more reticular fibers, and is produced by fibroblasts of the underlying dermis.