Written by Milton Burton
Last Updated


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Written by Milton Burton
Last Updated
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Intrinsic action

Light is essential to the human body because of its biosynthetic action. Ultraviolet light induces the conversion of ergosterol and other vitamin precursors present in normal skin to vitamin D, an essential factor for normal calcium deposition in growing bones. While some ultraviolet light appears desirable for the formation of vitamin D, an excess amount is deleterious. Humans have a delicate adaptive mechanism that regulates light exposure of the more sensitive deeper layers of the skin. The transmission of light depends on the thickness of the upper layers of the skin and on the degree of skin pigmentation. All persons, with the exception of albinos, are born with varying amounts of melanin pigment in their skin. Exposure to light further enhances the pigmentation already present and can induce production of new pigment granules. The therapeutic possibilities of sunlight and ultraviolet light became apparent around 1900, with popularization of the idea that exposure of the whole body to sunlight promotes health.

By that time, it was already known that large doses of ultraviolet radiation cause sunburn, the wavelength of about 2800 angstroms being most effective. It induces reddening and swelling of the skin (owing to dilation of the blood vessels), usually accompanied by pain. In the course of recovery, epidermal cells are proliferated, melanin is secreted, and the outer corneal layer of dead cells is thickened. In 1928 it was first shown clearly that prolonged or repeated exposure to ultraviolet light leads to the delayed development of skin cancer. The fact that ultraviolet light, like X radiation, is mutagenic may explain its ability to cause skin cancer, but the detailed mechanism of cancer induction is not yet completely understood. There seems very little doubt, however, that skin cancer in humans is in some cases correlated with prolonged exposure to large doses of sunlight. Among blacks who are protected by rich melanin formation and thickened corneal structure of the skin, incidence of cancer of the skin is several times less frequent than it is among whites living at the same latitude.

Photodynamic action

There are a number of diseases in humans and other animals in which light sensitivity is involved; for example, hydroa, which manifests itself in blisters on parts of the body exposed to sunlight. It has been suggested that this disease results from a light-sensitive porphyrin compound found in the blood.

Actually there are many organic substances and various materials of biologic origin that make cells sensitive to light. When eosin is added to a suspension of human red blood corpuscles exposed to light, the red corpuscles will break up in a process called hemolysis. Other typical photodynamic substances are rose bengal, hematoporphyrin, and phylloerythrin—all are dyes capable of fluorescence. Their toxicity manifests itself only in the presence of light and oxygen.

Some diseases in domestic animals result from ingestion of plants having photodynamic pigments. For example, St. Johnswort’s disease is caused by the plant Hypericum. Fagopyrism results from eating buckwheat. In geeldikopp (“yellow thick head”), the photodynamic agent is produced in the animal’s own intestinal tract from chlorophyll derived from plants. In humans the heritable condition of porphyria frequently is associated with light sensitivity, as are a number of somewhat ill-defined dermatologic conditions that result from exposure to sunlight. The recessively inherited rare disease xeroderma pigmentosum also is associated with light exposure; it usually results in death at an early age from tumours of the skin that develop on exposed areas. The cells of such individuals possess a serious genetic defect: they lack the ability to repair nucleic-acid lesions caused by ultraviolet light.

Certain drugs (e.g., sulfanilamide) sensitize some persons to sunlight. Many cases are known in which ingestion of or skin contact with a photodynamic substance was followed by increased light sensitivity.

Effects on development and biologic rhythms

In addition to its photosynthetic effect, light exerts an influence on growth and spatial orientation of plants. This phototropism is associated with yellow pigments and is particularly marked in blue light. The presence of illumination is a profound modifier of the cellular activities in plants as well. For example, while some species of blue-green algae carry out photosynthesis in the presence of light, they do not undergo cell division.

Diffuse sensitivity to light also exists in several phyla of animals. Many protozoans react to light. Chameleons, frogs, and octopuses change colour under the influence of light. Such changes are ascribed to special organs known as chromatophores, which are under the influence of the nervous system or endocrine system. The breeding habits and migration of some birds are set in motion by small consecutive changes in the daily cycle of light.

Light is an important controlling agent of recurrent daily physiological alterations (circadian rhythms) in many animals, including humans in all likelihood. Lighting cycles have been shown to be important in regulating several types of endocrine function: the daily variation in light intensity keeps the secretion of adrenal steroids in synchrony; the annual breeding cycles in many mammals and birds appear to be regulated by light. Ambient light somehow influences the secretions of a tiny gland, the pineal body, located near the cerebellum. The pineal body, under the action of enzymes, produces melanotonin, which in higher concentrations slows down the estrous cycle; low levels of melanotonin, caused by exposure of animals to light, accelerates estrus. It is believed that light stimulates the retina, and information is then transmitted by sympathetic nerves to the pineal body.

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