X-ray diffraction investigations of collagen fibril structure in dermatosparactic lamb tissues.

The x-ray diffraction of dermatosparactic lamb skin and tendon was compared with that from normal lamb tissues in order to investigate alterations in collagen fibril structure in the diseased tissues. Dermatosparactic tendon, which contains about 13 per cent pN-collagen, gave a normal x-ray pattern, whereas dermatosparactic skin, with 70 per cent pN-collagen, gave extremely weak meridional diffraction. The loss of meridional diffraction indicates a loss of long range axial alignment of the collagen molecules in the affected skin fibrils. Drying or reduction of dermatosparactic skin increased the meridional diffraction, indicating some restoration of the axial order.