Journal of Applied Physiology, Vol 49, Issue 3 438-443, Copyright © 1980 by American Physiological Society
Transfer of oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide through normal adult human skin
T. N. Hansen, Y. Sonoda and M. B. McIlroy
The resistance to the flow of oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide through
the skin ws measured in three normal adult human subjects. A sampling
chamber 2.5 cm in diameter, heated to 43-44 degrees C, was applied to the
skin of the forearm and gas sampled with a mass spectrometer at a rate of
about 10(-5) ml . s-1 through membranes of different resistance. Skin
resistance was calculated from the results of sequential studies with
different membranes of known resistance on the sampling chamber. The
resistance to oxygen flow (1.79 +/- 0.92 X 10(3) atm . ml-1 . min . cm2)
was 1/5 of that for nitrogen and 28.5 times that for carbon dioxide. The
response time of the skin to a sudden change in arterial gas tension was
investigated by having the subjects rebreathe 5% carbon dioxide in oxygen
and then breathe air. The mean transit times though the skin for oxygen and
carbon dioxide were similar (approx 30 s) and about twice those for
nitrogen. The finding of similar response times for oxygen and carbon
dioxide transfer in the face of large differences in resistance suggests
that there is a high capacitance for carbon dioxide in the skin, presumably
due to its high solubility and the effects of buffering.
