Abstract
Following exposure of the tissue to14C‐acetate, polyunsaturated fatty acids were separated from the total fatty acids of newborn human preputial and mouse skin using argentative thin layer and gas liquid chromatographic procedures. They were characterized by conventional methods including oxidative cleavage and gas liquid chromatography of fission fragments. Members of the linoleic and linolenic acid classes were present in labeled form including the parent acids. Linoleic and arachidonic acids predominated, all others occurring in relatively small amounts. Patterns for the two types of skin were similar in distribution of both mass and radioactivity of individual acids.