DEMONSTRATION OF A TOXIC FACTOR IN THE BLOOD OF RATS SHOCKED BY BURN 1

In previous studies published from this labora-tory (1) it was shown that 2 major factors are implicated in the production of burn shock in mice and rats; the one, fluid loss at the site of the ther-mal injury, and the other, stagnation of blood in atonic visceral capillaries. Capillary atony was demonstrated in burn shock whether thermal trauma was accompanied by much or little local fluid loss. In certain forms of thermal injury there is very little edema formation (2); yet the circulatory blood volume as represented by the bleeding volume is drastically reduced and the ani-mal dies in shock (1). In this instance, local fluid loss is eliminated as the principal cause of the reduction in the bleeding volume, and the poolin