3. Observations on the Absorbing Power of the Human Skin

Extract

For the last sixty years physiological and other authors have been maintaining two very opposite views in regard to the absorption by the skin of substances dissolved in the water of baths. Some authors holding that such salts as iodide of potassium readily reach the blood through the skin, when applied in the form of a bath containing that salt; while others hold that absorption, under such circumstances, never takes place. Among those who hold the affirmative view, I may mention Braconnot, Madden, O'Henry (fils), Carpenter, Chevallier et Petit; and among those who hold the opposite opinion, Currie, Seguin, Lehmann of Leipzig, Kletzinsky.