ABSORPTION OF OXYGEN FROM THE SUBCUTANEOUS TISSUES

¹ Medical College, Rangoon University

1. The rate of absorption of oxygen from the subcutaneous tissue is very slow. It varies from ·6 to 1·2 c. c. per minute, when 500 c. c. are injected, the surface of absorption being almost half the subcutaneous region of the cat.

2. The absorption becomes almost nil an hour or an hour and a half after injection. This, of course, is due to the lowering of oxygen tension owing to the diffusion of CO₂ and N out from the tissues (Campbell).

3. The efficiency of the lungs to saturate the blood with oxygen is about 15 to 20 times greater than the whole subcutaneous region.

I beg to thank Dr. J. A. Campbell of the Medical Research Institute for help and advice in the publication of these results, and I also wish to express my acknowledgments to Dr. B. S. Kahali, M. B., of the Medical College, Rangoon, for co-operation in the work.