Oxygen Tension of Subcutaneous Gas Pockets in Cobalt-Treated Mice and Adrenalectomized Mice.

The gas pocket method of estimating O2 tension of subcutaneous tissue was utilized to see if the protection afforded by CoCl2 and adrenalectomy in high oxygen pressure could be due to a generalized depression of tissue pO2. (a) Mice previously treated with cobalt and control animals previously treated with saline were studied in O2 at one atmosphere and in room air. (b) Pockets were observed in an experimental group during a period of cobalt injections and in control animals which received saline injections. (c) Gas pockets in a group of adrenalectomized mice were compared with those in intact, untreated controls. The cobalt injections produced an increase in pO2 of the gas pocket which appeared the first day after beginning treatment. The adrenalectomized mice showed no difference from their controls in gas pocket pO2. Since decreased pO2 was not observed, it was concluded that the protection of the two treatments against oxygen toxicity must be due to other factors.