ALTERATIONS IN PERIPHERAL CIRCULATION AND TISSUE TEMPERATURE FOLLOWING LOCAL APPLICATION OF SHORT WAVE DIATHERMY
Herman J. Flax, Ruth N. Miller, Steven M. Horvath · 1949
1949 study of 10 men found that local shortwave diathermy to the thigh raised tissue temperature but produced four different types of peripheral blood flow response.
Plain English Summary
This 1949 study examined how local shortwave diathermy (a medical heating device using radio frequencies) affected tissue temperature and peripheral blood flow in 10 normal men aged 22 to 35. Twenty minutes of treatment raised thigh surface temperature by a mean of 3.1 degrees. Four types of blood flow response were observed: no vasodilation in the distal area (3 subjects), gradual vasoconstriction (3), marked vasodilation (2), and no change during application with an increase occurring later (2). The authors noted that earlier reports of diathermy's effect on blood flow disagreed.
Why This Matters
This 1949 study shows how inconsistent the blood flow response to local heating could be. Short wave diathermy raised the temperature of both superficial and deep thigh tissue, yet the 10 subjects showed four different peripheral blood flow responses. The authors concluded that changes in blood flow are not necessarily a consequence of changes in deep-tissue temperature, and suggested that earlier reports of increased flow may reflect a secondary response to a general rise in body temperature. Rectal temperature showed no general rise in this study.
Figures from the Original Paper
Diagrams extracted from the original research document.
Show BibTeX
@article{alterations_in_peripheral_circulation_and_tissue_temperature_following_local_app_g3883,
author = {Herman J. Flax and Ruth N. Miller and Steven M. Horvath},
title = {ALTERATIONS IN PERIPHERAL CIRCULATION AND TISSUE TEMPERATURE FOLLOWING LOCAL APPLICATION OF SHORT WAVE DIATHERMY},
year = {1949},
}