Studies on the pathogenesis of acute inflammation. II. The action of cortisone on the inflammatory response to thermal injury.

The anti-inflammatory action of cortisone upon the acute cellular response to thermal injury has been systematically studied in the rabbit ear chamber. The hormone has been shown to suppress the reaction of acute inflammation in its earliest recognizable phase; i.e., that involving vasodilatation and the adherence of leucocytes to the vascular endothelium. Evidence has been presented that the anti-inflammatory effect of the hormone cannot be explained on the basis of its vasoconstrictive properties alone. The experimental observations support the hypothesis that cortisone exerts a direct protective action upon endothelial cells and leucocytes, and that in so doing, it renders them refractory to the tissue products which initiate inflammation.