There's a bit more primary source material. If you go to my site and
read the thread entitled, "Fish Oil and the Essential Fatty Acid
Claim," you will see it. It's on the Nutrition newsgroup.

I received an email from someone named Carol, which I just read. She
requested the link to the experimental studies that found that there
is no such thing as "EFAD," unless the animal can't synthesize the
Mead acid, due to vitamin B6 deficiency. Note that they sometimes say
arachidonic acid when they mean Mead acid, because Mead acid was not
discovered until after these experiments, in 1952.

QUOTE: ...In the studies with tri-di-deuterio-iso-olein mentioned
under
Section A above, the fatty acids from the carcasses and hides were
analyzed spectrophotometrically and it was found that the arachidonic
acid content of the carcass fat increased as the experiment period
continued. Thus, it appears that arachidonic acid was synthesized by
the rats. This conclusion was greatly strengthened [illegible] our
finding that deuterium was present in the arachidonic acid molecule
for it indicated that the arachidonic acid was synthesized from a
deuteriumated iso-oleic acid in the diet. This evidence that the rat
can synthesize an "essential" fatty acid is of considerable scientific
interest...

[when?] fed a pyridoxine-deficient diet, rats develop
a scaliness of the paws and tails which is hardly distinguishable from
the syndrome which develops from a deficiency in "essential" fatty
acids. Others have demonstrated that pyridoxine is necessary for the
formation of fat from protein. From this we have reasoned that there
may be an interrelationship between pyridoxine and "essential" fatty
acids.

We have demonstrated that this deficiency condition can be cured
by feeding pyridoxine but that it is not affected by feeding linoleic
acid. The effects of pyridoxine have been confirmed in a repeat
experiment. The evidence indicates that pyridoxine deficiency not
only decreases the appetite of rats but also the efficiency of food
utilization. It appears that rats store only small amounts of
pyridoxine, for their growth rate was retarded within five days after
they were placed on a pyridoxic-free ration. The rats fed no
pyridoxine consumed nearly twice as much food per gram gain in weight
as those fed pyridoxic in fat-free diets or in diets containing olive
oil. More fat was deposited in their tissues when pyridoxine and/or
fat, was present in the diet. The dermatitis which developed after two
to four weeks on a fat-free pyridoxine-free diet was partially cured
by feeding pyridoxine, and completely cured when both pyridoxine and
linoleic acid were added. The percentage of arachidonic acid in the
carcass fatty acids was lowest when olive oil and pyridoxine were
present in the diet of the rats. The total amount of arachidonic acid
was greatest in those rats fed pyridoxine in the diet. It is obvious
that pyridoxine and arachidonic acid are interrelated in metabolism...

The
question arises whether the iso-oleic fatty acids were used in the
synthesis of arachidonic acid. In an attempt to answer this question
one group of rats, was given a fat-free synthetic diet; a (80-85 per
cent normal oleic acid) added; and a third group was given this diet
with 14 per cent elaidic acid (an iso-oleic acid) added. After 42
days the animals were destroyed, the fatty acids extracted from the
carcasses and livers, and these acids analyzed for arachidonic acid
content.

The animals on the fat-free diet developed a very mild scaliness
of the feet and tails. Since, in a later experiment, this condition
was prevented by feeding additional amounts of the various vitamins in
the supplement, it is considered possible that olive oil or elaidin in
the diet exerts a vitamin-sparing action.

The carcasses of the rats fed the fat-free diet contained
definitely less fat, and the carcass fatty acids, were more
saturated, than those from the rats fed olive oil or elaidic acid...

Further, research may show that these
differences in the arachidonic acid content of the carcass fats were
due to differences in rate of utilization of this acid in
metabolism... UNQUOTE.

Source: http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/radiati...b_e/br4e1c.txt