CHANGES IN THE INTRA-ARTICULAR TEMPERATURE OF THE KNEE WITH CUTANEOUS VASOCONSTRICTION AND VASODILATATION OF THE TOES IN NORMAL SUBJECTS* BY

Hollander (1949) have reported two sets of experi-ments in which they studied the changes induced in the intra-articular temperature by the application of cold, or heat, to another part of the body. In the first series of experiments, the application of cold packs to one knee caused an increase in the tempera-ture of the other knee joint, and hot packs to one knee caused a decrease in the temperature of the other knee joint. In the second series of experi-ments, the immersion of one leg in water at 103 ' F. did not alter the temperature of the ankle joint of the opposite leg even though it produced cutaneous vasodilatation of the toes of the unimmersed foot. Stimulated by their work, we became interested in measuring the effect of cold and heat, somewhat differently applied, upon joint temperature. Body cooling has been known for many years to elicit marked cutaneous vasoconstriction in the extremi-ties, just as body warming has been known to elicit marked cutaneous vasodilatation in the extremities. For certain physiological and clinical considerations to be discussed later, we are describing in this paper the changes in joint temperature which accompany these conspicuous changes in skin blood flow. Method The seven subjects studied were healthy young adults, 20 to 35 years of age (average 27). Skin surface tempera-tures were measured by thermocouples attached by one layer of adhesive tape to the skin on the dorsal surfac