Electrolyte destruction of lung tissue. Electrochemical aspects.

The electrochemical basis for tissue destruction by electrolysis was analysed. Electrolytic lesions from pig lungs had a higher content of organically bound chlorine than normal tissue and it is suggested that chlorine, liberated at the anode, is the principal agent in the electrolytic destruction of tissue. The electrode systems that were most effective in destroying tissue produced the lesions with the highest content of chlorine. Experiments in physiologic saline established that a current density of 40 mA/cm2 gave the best yield of chlorine.