CUTANEOUS RESPIRATION IN MAN VII. THE EFFECT OF VENOUS CONGESTION ON THE RATE OF CARBON DIOXIDE ELIMINATION AND OXYGEN ABSORPTION'

This communication presents the results of an investigation of the effect of venous congestion on the rate of cutaneous respiration in man. METHODS AND RESULTS The apparatus employed was that designed by Shaw and his associates (1, 2). The technical procedure was essentially the same as that followed in studying the effect of drugs on the rate of cutaneous respiratory exchange (3). Measurements were made of the total amounts of carbon dioxide eliminated and oxygen absorbed through the skin of the arm in two successive two-hour experiments. In both periods, the arm was introduced into the plethysmograph to the same extent. The first experiment, in each instance, was a control observation. The subject's arm was removed from the plethysmograph between the two periods, and the apparatus was washed out with room air. The arm was then re-inserted, and a pneumatic cuff, 13 cm. wide, was applied. After the first gas sample of the second experiment had been collected, the cuff wa