The Journal of experimental medicine
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In the study of the action of non-antiseptic substances on the rate of cicatrization, the chief obstacle encountered is the facility with which wounds become reinfected under an aseptic dressing. At the beginning of Experiment 1 the wound was sterile. It was subjected to flushing with distilled water for 2 hours, then to flushing with 30 per cent sodium chloride solution for another 2 hours. ⋯ But it seems that a tissue with normal circulation is protected by it against the changes of the osmotic pressure occurring at its surface. The above experiments show that apparently the conditions of the tissues of a wound are not modified by the changes of the osmotic pressure of the dressing. The beneficial effects of hypertonic sodium chloride solution on the sterilization of wounds and on the rate of healing recently described by various surgeons are possibly an illusion due to lack of precise technique.