PLASMA PROTEINS IN CUTANEOUS BURNS

Abstract
Attention has frequently been called to the analogy between traumatic toxemia and the toxemia following extensive burns. Certain alterations in the plasma proteins have been observed which are of fundamental importance in explaining the syndrome in shock. It, therefore, seemed desirable to study the plasma proteins of a group of cases of burns to determine whether further light might be thrown on the toxemia which is seen after recovery from the initial collapse in such cases. Starling1 demonstrated that the walls of the blood vessels are normally impermeable to colloids. It is also known2 that the composition of the plasma of a given person is relatively constant. Dale and Laidlaw3 have shown, however, that the concentration of blood in histamine shock is not accompanied by an increase of the plasma proteins. They concluded that histamine acted directly on the capillary endothelium, rendering it more permeable, and that

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