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Interpretation of Skin Impedance Measurements

Abstract

HUMAN skin presents a high impedance to alternating current of low frequency1. The impedance is greatly reduced if the surface layers of the skin are abraded2. When the frequency of the applied a.c. is raised above 10 c/s, the impedance falls; the equivalent circuit is a polarization impedance in parallel with a resistance3. The impedance of rabbit or pig skin is less than that of human skin, and is also less dependent on frequency (Fig. 1).

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References

  1. Plutchik, R., and Hirsch, H. R., Science, 141, 927 (1963).

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  2. Lawler, J. C., Davies, M. J., and Griffith, E. C., J. Invest. Derm., 34, 301 (1960).

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  3. Yokota, T., and Fujimori, B., Jap. J. Physiol., 12, 200 (1962).

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  4. Tregear, R. T., in Progress in Biological Sciences in Relation to Dermatology (Camb. Univ. Press, 1964).

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TREGEAR, R. Interpretation of Skin Impedance Measurements. Nature 205, 600–601 (1965). https://doi.org/10.1038/205600a0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/205600a0

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