Surgery, gynecology & obstetrics
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Studies to determine the relationship between increased vascular permeability, water content and protein leakage, and burn size were performed on rats. Partial thickness scald burn covering 10, 20, 30 and 40 per cent of the rats' body surface area were induced in four groups of rats. A fifth group of rats served as the controls. ⋯ While the size of the burn appears to have some influence on capillary permeability, burns up to 40 per cent of the body surface have only a mild and transient effect upon capillaries distant to the site of injury. This observation supports the concept of a humoral mediator for capillary permeability and suggests that more pronounced changes can occur with larger burns. Nonetheless, extravasation of albumin appears to be short-lived.