TISSUE FLUID FLOWING INTO GINGIVAL POCKET

The tissue fluid flowing into 129 human gingival pockets of upper anterior teeth in 15 minutes was collected on strips of alter paper. The tissue fluid from each pocket was weighed and the ninhydrin positive substance or free amino acids contained in it was estimated. These results were compared with clinical and histological findings. The weights of tissue fluid and the amounts of ninhydrin positive substance from all clinically healthy gingival pockets were found to be almost the same. There was a correlation between the tissue fluid weight and the amount of the ninhydrin positive substance in every type of periodontal disease. The amount of ninhydrin positive substance tended to increase with the progress of this disease. In many cases the amount of the ninhydrin positive substance increased where inflammatory cell infiltration and degeneration in subepithelial tissue and/ or cell infiltration and roughness in pocket epithelium were recognized. The small amount of free amino acids per mg of tissue fluid was recognized in the case of gingivitis. The amount increased sharply in the case of slight periodontitis, but in the case of severe periodontitis, decreased slightly on the contrary of increase in the total ninhydrin positive substance.