In a previous report it was shown that human sweat is an excellent culture medium for certain bacteria.1
Little work has been done on the bactericidal properties of sweat. In studying the subject of lysozyme and its presence in different tissues, Fleming and Allison2 stated that this substance was absent in human sweat. No other reference to this subject has been found. An investigation was made, therefore, with three objects in view, namely: (1) to determine whether human sweat, sterilized by passage through the Berkefeld filter, will permit bacterial growth; (2) if it does, to determine the presence or absence of bactericidal substances in it, and (3) to note the influence of pyogenic skin infections on bacterial growth.
METHOD OF INVESTIGATION
The subjects in whom sweating was induced were patients selected from the dermatologic clinic of the Montreal General Hospital.The procedure for the collection of sweat was