Measurement of the partial oxygen pressure and oxygen utilization in the skin of cosmonauts aboard Salyut 6.

The oxygen tension (PO2) in the dorsal skin surface of the forearm was studied during the stay of cosmonauts on board Salyut 6. Between the fourth and fifth day of stay on the orbital station a considerable reduction of the PO2 level was observed. The oxygen utilization values were also reduced. In the early postflight period the low PO2 level persisted with gradual normalization.