Micro-electrode measurement of skin pH in humans during ischaemia, hypoxia and local hypothermia.

1. The extracellular pH value in the dermis of human skin (skin pH) was measured in vivo using glass micro-electrodes. They were found to be both reliable and accurate. 2. The mean value of skin pH measured in the legs of forty different volunteers was found to be pH 7.54 +/- 0.09 (S.D.). No difference in skin pH was observed between males and females, or in different regions of the limb. 3. Local reductions in skin surface temperature in ten subjects caused an increase of pH 0.023 +/- 0.007 per degree C fall. 4. A 20 min period of tourniquet ischaemia in twenty volunteers induced a fall in skin pH of 0.13 +/- 0.05 units. 5. Hyperventilation during a 10 min period of breathing 10% O2 in N2 caused an increase of pH 0.04 +/- 0.02 in the skin of healthy subjects. 6. Skin pH fell to a value 0.02 +/- 0.02 units below normal 10 min after the hypoxic period, suggesting the presence of excess lactate. 7. Skin pH results compared well with blood gases and pH values of arterialized samples taken during hypoxia. 8. It was concluded that the system was suitable for clinical trials.