COMPARATIVE EXAMINATIONS OF THE PHYSICAL CHARACTER OF GROUND SUBSTANCE BY MEANS OF GELATINOUS BULLAE

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Abstract
Fluid injected into the subcutaneous tissue of a rat will form in it a gelatinous bulla. This bulla can be excised intact, and comparative measurements of the rate at which the injectant is lost from it can be used to give information in regard to the character of the ground substance, or the effect of the injectant upon the ground substance. The rate of water loss was found to be decreased by advance in age, and by castration of the male. It was increased by hyaluronidase, by variations above and below pH 7, by maintenance on a subscorbutic diet. It was found greater with high temperatures than with low. The experimental results have been correlated with the known electrochemical nature of the ground substance, suggesting that the use of this method of bullae formation is a simple means by which comparative examinations of ground substance can be made.