The effect of antiseptics on the healing wound: a study using the rabbit ear chamber.

The effects of several antiseptic agents on granulation tissue were studied using rabbit ear chambers as models of the healing wound. This enabled us to study dynamically the action of these agents on the microcirculation of the wound. All the agents tested caused some adverse effect, but in the cases of hypochlorite antiseptics Eusol and Chloramine T, blood flow in the capillary circulation of the granulation tissue ceased and the process of repair was subsequently delayed. A laser Doppler flowmeter was used to measure these changes in local perfusion which reflected the toxic effects seen on microscopy of the ear chamber.