The development of treatments using stem cells has drawn the attention of researchers to fat deposits given the fact they represent an almost unlimited reservoir of such cells, which can be accessed through minimally invasive techniques. However, the standardization of these studies has been made difficult because of the controversies of nomenclature regarding the many components of adipose tissue. Despite their distinct and independent structures with different metabolic responses, the terms hypodermis and subcutaneous adipose tissue are many times used as synonyms. However, the correct distinction between these two layers, the knowledge of their behavior and an uniformity of these terminologies are of utmost importance. Thus, the purpose of this study was to make a bibliographic review on the theme, aiming to show the anatomical, histological and metabolic differences between these two tissues and standardize their nomenclature.