Histological changes in rabbits after application of medicaments and cosmetic bases (III).

An experimental study is reported of the irritant potential of oil of purcellin , isopropyl palmitate, nonyl phenol, Modulan , Amerchol and Acetulan when massaged in fixed amounts into the rabbit's skin daily for 30 days. Skin biopsies provided data on the number of epithelial cell layers, cell counts of the superficial dermis, and the fibre and basement membrane changes. All the test compounds induced changes in the form of increased number of epithelial cell layers and of the papillary dermis cell count, more marked for Acetulan or Amerchol . The difficulties in the evaluation of the results and their applications to human pathology are discussed.