Transfer of oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide through normal adult human skin.

The resistance to the flow of oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide through the skin ws measured in three normal adult human subjects. A sampling chamber 2.5 cm in diameter, heated to 43-44 degrees C, was applied to the skin of the forearm and gas sampled with a mass spectrometer at a rate of about 10(-5) ml . s-1 through membranes of different resistance. Skin resistance was calculated from the results of sequential studies with different membranes of known resistance on the sampling chamber. The resistance to oxygen flow (1.79 +/- 0.92 X 10(3) atm . ml-1 . min . cm2) was 1/5 of that for nitrogen and 28.5 times that for carbon dioxide. The response time of the skin to a sudden change in arterial gas tension was investigated by having the subjects rebreathe 5% carbon dioxide in oxygen and then breathe air. The mean transit times though the skin for oxygen and carbon dioxide were similar (approx 30 s) and about twice those for nitrogen. The finding of similar response times for oxygen and carbon dioxide transfer in the face of large differences in resistance suggests that there is a high capacitance for carbon dioxide in the skin, presumably due to its high solubility and the effects of buffering.