Formation of Prostaglandins in the Skin Following a Burn Injury

Abstract

Two phases are discerned in the vascular response to a burn injury, one immediate, lasting 5–10 min, and one delayed starting after about 30 min and lasting several hours to days. Histamine has been suggested as a mediator of the first phase of the inflammatory response, and vasoactive polypeptides have been implied in the delayed phase (Spector and Willoughby, 1968). In the following we shall describe results showing that prostaglandin E(2) is formed in the skin following a burn injury, and may thus be an additional mediator in the delayed phase of the tissue response to a burn injury