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We define the notion of metabolicity index of involutions of the first kind in characteristic two. It is shown that this index is preserved over odd degree extensions of the base field. Also, its behavior over finite separable extensions is studied. As an application, it is shown that an orthogonal involution on a central simple algebra of degree a power of two which is either anisotropic or metabolic is totally decomposable if it is totally decomposable over some separable extension of the ground field. This result is then used to strengthen an earlier result of the author which proves a characteristic two counterpart of a conjecture concerning Pfister involutions formulated by Bayer-Fluckiger et al.

We study some properties of quadratic forms with values in a field whose underlying vector spaces are endowed with the structure of right vector spaces over a division ring extension of that field. Some generalized notions of isotropy, metabolicity and isometry are introduced and used to find a Witt decomposition for these forms. We then associate to every (skew) hermitian form over a division algebra with involution of the first kind a quadratic form defined on its underlying vector space. It is shown that this quadratic form, with its generalized notions of isotropy and isometry, can be used to determine the isotropy behaviour and the isometry class of (skew) hermitian forms.

The question of whether a split tensor product of quaternion algebras with involution over a field of characteristic two can be expressed as a tensor product of split quaternion algebras with involution, is shown to have an affirmative answer.