Intrafollicular Pressure in the Feather Follicle

A PREVIOUS report by Ostmann, Ringer and Tetzlaff (1963) indicated that anesthetics, sympathetic and parasympathetic blocking agents, and tranquilizing drugs caused the feather to loosen within its follicle. These workers did not clarify the exact role played by the muscles and wall of the feather follicle in feather release. An experiment using intrafollicular pressure as a measurement was designed to study the mechanism involved in the loose and tight states within the feather follicle. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Mature S. C. White Leghorn hens were secured on an operating cradle which held them virtually motionless. A mature feather was randomly selected for studying intrafollicular pressure from either the femoral or caudal feather tract. With procaine used as a local anesthetic, one of the brachial veins was then cannulated for the subsequent injection of sodium pentobarbital. All feather shafts in the immediate area of the chosen feather were cut at the level of…