EFFECT ON WOUND HEALING OF BACTERICIDAL ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION FROM A SPECIAL UNIT: EXPERIMENTAL STUDY

Before utilizing a special ultraviolet irradiation unit for sterilizing the air in the operative region, with resultant exposure of the open wound, it seemed desirable to test the effect of radiation on wound healing in experimental animals. As has been previously reported, 1 this unit consists of eight tubes 30 inches (75 cm.) long, mounted with two parallel tubes occupying the central part of each side of a square 5 feet (150 cm.) to the side. This square was mounted in a horizontal plane with its center approximately 4 feet 6 inches (137 cm.) above the operative site so as to place the center of each of the tubes about 5 feet from the incision. Over 80 per cent of the output of these radiation tubes is at 2,537 angstrom units. The intensity of radiation at the operative site, as measured by a photoelectric cell sensitive to this wavelength and