IN SEARCH OF HUMAN SKIN PHEROMONES

The term pheromone was first designated by Karlson and Luscher(1) in 1 959 as a substance secreted by an animal to the outside of that indivi dual, which was then received by another individual, classically of th e same species, and which then elicited some behavioral or development al response in the latter. They composed the term from the Greek words pherein, which means to bring or to transfer, and hormon, which means to excite. In the usual context, this response in the second individu al is of a sexual or of a reproductive physiologic nature, although so metimes the definition might even be extended to include other social responses such as when a dog uses pheromones in urine to mark territor y. Classically, pheromones are thought of as being olfactory, but thes e chemicals may also be received by contact. Pheromones may be present in many different sites in animals, such as in the skin, including so me of its glands, saliva, urine, vaginal discharge and feces.