STUDIES ON THE SENSITIZATION OF ANIMALS WITH SIMPLE CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS : VI. EXPERIMENTS ON THE SENSITIZATION OF GUINEA PIGS TO POISON IVY

Experiments are described on the latency period in sensitization to poison ivy and on the time necessary for the agent to remain in contact with the skin. The chief matter of investigation concerned the manner in which the whole skin becomes sensitive following treatment at a particular site, and especially whether this is effected by way of the epidermis. Two methods were used to interrupt the continuity of the skin, one by cutting through both skin and the underlying thin muscular layer, the other by removing a strip of skin so as to spare the skin muscle. These procedures led to different results when poison ivy extract was applied to the areas thus isolated. In the first case, sensitization was mostly prevented, whereas with the second method generalized hypersensitiveness occurred almost uniformly. An explanation is to be found in the severance of the lymph vessels lying on the surface of the muscular layer, pointing to the necessity of a free lymph passage. On the other hand the experiments prove that general sensitization is not dependent upon maintaining the integrity of the skin around a treated area. An inhibition of sensitization by incisions extending through the panniculus carnosus was seen to some extent in anaphylactic sensitization with protein antigens, namely when sufficiently small amounts were employed.