The Effect of Pituitrin Injection on the Water Balance of Bufo Regularis Reuss

1950 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-49
Author(s):  
R. F. EWER

1. A method of cannulating the cloaca of Anura is described. 2. Using this method it is found that in Bufo regularis the increase in body water which follows pituitrin injection is the result of an increased rate of water uptake, together with a diminished urine flow. 3. The excess water is mostly retained in the lymph spaces, while the water content of the tissues of the body increases very little. 4. The bearing of these results on the problem of the identification of the substance or substances which elicit the amphibian water balance effect, and the biological significance of the organization of the anuran lymphatic system are discussed.

1930 ◽  
Vol 51 (6) ◽  
pp. 867-878 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. G. H. Drake ◽  
C. F. McKhann ◽  
J. L. Gamble

The circumstances present in upper intestinal obstruction which may be expected to reduce the water content of the body are fasting with water deprivation and a continued loss of secretions into the stomach. According to the data obtained from the above described experiments with rats, loss of body water during the first third of the survival period following pyloric obstruction is more than half accounted for by fasting with water deprivation. This body water is accompanied by a parallel loss of solids and may be regarded as a waste product of the consumption of body fat, glycogen, and protoplasm. Its loss does not disturb the per cent water content of the body tissues. The water lost into the stomach is responsible for an actual excess of water reduction over consumption of solids. Except in the case of the skin and blood, this excess loss of water is extremely small and produces a reduction of the per cent water content of tissues which is so slight as to permit the surmise that the water loss here derives entirely from the interstitial fluid of the tissues and that no dehydration of tissue cells occurs. The data are, however, not directly informative on this point. The total loss of body water during 12 hours following pyloric obstruction was found to be 12.6 per cent of the water content of a control animal. More than one-quarter (28.3 per cent) of the total body content of chloride ion was found to be lost and was entirely accounted for by the amount of chloride found in the gastric contents. Nearly half of the chloride loss derives from the skin. Data are presented which demonstrate that lower intestinal obstruction causes slight, if any, depletion of the water content of the body.


2016 ◽  
Vol 141 (6) ◽  
pp. 653-660 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Winkler ◽  
Stefanie Peschel ◽  
Kathleen Kohrs ◽  
Moritz Knoche

Rain cracking of sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) fruit is commonly thought to result from excessive net water uptake. This excess increases flesh turgor, which then strains and eventually ruptures the skin at the weakest point. This idea—the critical turgor hypothesis—assumes the fruit comprises a semifluid flesh, held under pressure by a taut skin. The objectives of this study were to test the validity of this popular hypothesis. We investigated the effects of 1) the different pathways of water uptake and 2) the fruit’s water balance on cracking. Incubating fruit of 19 cultivars in water resulted in rapid fruit cracking. The time to 50% cracking (T50) averaged 7.5 ± 1.3 hours with considerable variability between cultivars (T50 range from 1.5 to 18.6 hours). The amount of water taken up at 50% cracking (WU50) averaged 96.5 ± 17.6 mg (WU50 range from 17.7 to 331.5 mg). There was no correlation between either the T50 or the WU50, and the rate of water uptake. Also, there was no correlation between the values of T50 (r = 0.58) and only a weak correlation between the values of WU50 (r = 0.80*) determined in different years. Comparing the value of WU50 under incubation vs. under perfusion revealed a 3.9- to 38-fold higher WU50 under perfusion (397.6 to 1840 mg) than under incubation (48.8 to 102.6 mg). This marked dissimilarity remained, regardless of pretreatments with isotonic polyethylene glycol (PEG) 6000 to induce microcracking or by manipulation of skin wetness during perfusion. Sealing the pedicel/fruit junction markedly decreased the rate of water uptake under incubation. It had no effect on the T50, and it markedly decreased the WU50. Similarly, manually induced skin defects greatly increased the rate of water uptake but, with few exceptions, had no effect on the T50, whereas, the WU50 had increased. The location on the fruit surface of the resulting cracks was not related to the region of the skin in which the manual defect was induced. Allowing the fruit to transpire increased both, the T50 and the WU50. Interestingly, the amount of water lost by transpiration exceeded the amount that was subsequently required to cause cracking up to 5-fold. Incubating fruit with their stylar ends immersed in water, whereas their remaining surfaces were in air of 0%, 28%, 75%, or 100% relative humidity (RH) resulted in net losses of water of up to 5.9 ± 0.7 mg·h−1, nevertheless their stylar ends still cracked. All our results indicate rain cracking in sweet cherries is a localized phenomenon that is not related to the net fruit water balance (the critical turgor hypothesis) but is the result of more local exposure of the fruit skin to liquid-phase water (the zipper hypothesis).


1968 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 129
Author(s):  
PH Springell

Twenty-four steers, comprising British (Hereford and Hereford x Shorthorn), Zebu (Africander), and Zebu cross (British x Brahman or Africander) breeds, were either maintained on pasture, or yarded and fed on diets of a low and a high nutritional value. Tritiated water was injected into the animals on five occasions at intervals of 3 months. The body water content and the water turnover rate were calculated, and some of the sources of variation defined. Observed differences in the water content are attributable to nutritional factors rather than to breed differences. The mean body water content ranged from 615 to 809 ml/kg fasting body weight, where the higher values were associated with a poor diet. The mean half-life of tritiated water was lower in summer (as low as 58 hr) than in winter (up to 128 hr) in grazing and well-fed yarded steers. On a poor diet, however, the half-life in yarded cattle remained high and almost constant throughout the year, dropping to below 100 hr on only a single occasion. Occasionally the half-life was breed dependent, but generally no significant differences between breeds could be found. While mean turnover rates of up to 7.1 ml kg-1 hr-1 were found in better-fed cattle in summer, the value in poorly fed animals was almost constant throughout the year at about 3.3 ml kg-1 hr-1. There was, however, a winter minimum in the well-fed yarded and grazing groups. The turnover rate was also influenced by breed only to a limited extent. The results are interpreted in the light of their possible significance in the adaptation to a tropical environment, and in relation to their value in predicting the body composition.


1971 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 345-355
Author(s):  
D. W. SUTCLIFFE

1. The water content, and the concentrations of sodium potassium and chloride in the blood and body water were determined in Gammarus pulex acclimatized to external salinities ranging from 0.06 mM/l NaCl up to 50 % sea water. 2. The mean body water content remained constant at 79.0-80.3 % body wet weight. The total body sodium and chloride concentrations were lowered in 0.06 mM/l NaCl and increased markedly at salinities above 10% sea water. The normal ratio of body sodium/chloride was 1.45-1.70, decreasing to 1.0 at 50% sea water. 3. The total body potassium concentration remained constant at 47.5-55.2 mM/kg body H2O. The rate of potassium loss across the body surface was relatively fast. Potassium balance was maintained at an external potassium concentration of 0.005 mM/l by starved animals, and at 0.005 mM/l by fed animals. 4. The proportion of body water in the blood space was calculated from the concentrations of potassium and chloride in the blood and in the body water. The blood space contained 38-42% body H2O in animals from fresh water. The blood space decreased to 31 % body H2O in animals from 0.06 mM/l NaCl. The sodium space was equivalent to about 70 % body H2O. 5. The mean intracellular concentrations of sodium, potassium and chloride were estimated and the results were compared with previous analyses made on the tissues of G. pulex and other crustaceans. It was concluded that in G. pulex from fresh water the distribution of potassium and chloride ions between the extracellular blood space and the intracellular space approximately conforms to a Donnan equilibrium. 30-40% of the body sodium is apparently located in the intracellular space.


1965 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 719-724 ◽  
Author(s):  
John E. Greenleaf ◽  
Frederick Sargent

The effects singly and in combination of heat, exercise, and hypohydration upon voluntary dehydration were studied in four acclimated, physically fit, young men. Voluntary dehydration is the delay in complete rehydration following water loss. Hypohydration refers to the state of decreased water content while the osmotic concentration of the body is maintained. Ad libitum drinking during the heat experiments was 146% greater than it was in the cool experiments. Hypohydration increased drinking 109% over the corresponding hydration experiment, exercise increased water intake 41% over resting. Hypohydration and exercise were less effective than heat in stimulating drinking. During the 4-hr experimental periods, the subjects did not or could not drink enough to compensate for the water lost. Regardless of the magnitude of the water deficit at the beginning of the recovery periods, the rates of rehydration were the same. The more stressful the experiment, the greater the water consumption and, in general, the longer it took to regain the lost water. water balance; heat; exercise; drinking; hypohydration Submitted on September 8, 1964


2001 ◽  
Vol 79 (8) ◽  
pp. 1512-1517 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc R.L Cattet ◽  
Paul D Watts ◽  
Jeong S Sim

The relationship between the water content and lipid content of adipose tissue was compared between 25 polar bears (Ursus maritimus) and 25 black bears (Ursus americanus) to determine if it was affected by species differences in the fatty-acid composition of adipose tissue. The adipose tissue of polar bears had a lower water content and a higher proportion of long-chain fatty acids than did the adipose tissue of black bears, when compared at equal lipid content. The relationship between the body water and lipid contents was also compared among 11 polar bears, 18 black bears, and 6 brown bears (Ursus arctos) to determine if this relationship could be affected by species differences in the relationship between the water and lipid contents of adipose tissue. The body-water content in marine (polar) bears was less than that in terrestrial (black and brown) bears, and the differences in body-water content between the two groups became more apparent as the body-lipid content increased. These results suggest that the fatty-acid composition of adipose tissue can affect the body-water content, especially in fat bears. These findings have implications for the use of isotope-dilution models to predict body composition in bears.


1960 ◽  
Vol XXXIV (II) ◽  
pp. 261-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mogens Osler

ABSTRACT The total body water as well as the distribution of water in the extracellular and intracellular compartments was determined in 23 infants born to diabetic mothers (diab. infants) and 15 infants born to normal mothers (normal infants). The total body water was determined by the dilution method using heavy water, and the extracellular water by the dilution method using thiosulphate. Intracellular water was calculated as total water less extracellular water. The analytical methods are described. Diab. infants proved to have a mean total body water of 2.48 litres or 70.2 per cent of the body weight, a mean extracellular water content of 1.41 litre or 38.5 per cent of the body weight, and a mean intracellular water content of 1.16 litre or 31.8 per cent of the body weight. Normal infants had a mean total body water of 2.58 litres or 78.2 per cent of the body weight, a mean extracellular water content of 1.53 litre or 44.9 per cent of the body weight, and a mean intracellular water content of 1.12 litre or 33.5 per cent of the body weight. The reduction in total and extracellular water in the diab. infants is statistically significant, whereas that of intracellular water is more doubtful. The reduction in total body water means that diab. infants are obese. A marked decrease in total as well as extracellular water without a substantial decrease in intracellular water cannot be due to obesity alone, since fat is assumed to contain more extracellular than intracellular water. Increased deposition of glycogen, which binds water in the cells and constitutes an intermediate product in the transformation of glucose to fat, can explain, when also considering the obesity, the reduction in total and extracellular water without a simultaneous decrease of intracellular water. Considering the influence of insulin, corticosteroids and growth hormone on the body composition, the author concludes that the changes found in the body composition of newborn infants of diabetic mothers (obesity + presumably increased glycogen) may be assumed to be due to maternal hyperglycaemia with consequent foetal hyperglycaemia + hyperinsulinism, but not to an action of maternal growth hormone. In other words, the result supports the so-called hyperglycaemia hypothesis as the cause of the increased weight and changed body composition of the newborn infants of diabetic women.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pablo Sabat ◽  
Seth D. Newsome ◽  
Stephanie Pinochet ◽  
Roberto Nespolo ◽  
Juan Carlos Sanchez-Hernandez ◽  
...  

Understanding physiological traits and ecological conditions that influence a species reliance on metabolic water is critical to creating accurate physiological models that can assess their ability to adapt to environmental perturbations (e.g., drought) that impact water availability. However, relatively few studies have examined variation in the sources of water animals use to maintain water balance, and even fewer have focused on the role of metabolic water. A key reason is methodological limitations. Here, we applied a new method that measures the triple oxygen isotopic composition of a single blood sample to estimate the contribution of metabolic water to the body water pool of three passerine species. This approach relies on Δ'17O, defined as the residual from the tight linear correlation that naturally exists between δ17O and δ18O values. Importantly, Δ'17O is relatively insensitive to key fractionation processes, such as Rayleigh distillation in the water cycle that have hindered previous isotope-based assessments of animal water balance. We evaluated the effects of changes in metabolic rate and water intake on Δ'17O values of captive rufous-collared sparrows (Zonotrichia capensis) and two invertivorous passerine species in the genus Cinclodes from the field. As predicted, colder acclimation temperatures induced increases in metabolic rate, decreases in water intake, and increases in the contribution of metabolic water to the body water pool of Z. capensis, causing a consistent change in Δ'17O. Measurement of Δ'17O also provides an estimate of the δ18O composition of ingested pre-formed (drinking/food) water. Estimated δ18O values of drinking/food water for captive Z. capensis were ~ −11‰, which is consistent with that of tap water in Santiago, Chile. In contrast, δ18O values of drinking/food water ingested by wild-caught Cinclodes were similar to that of seawater, which is consistent with their reliance on marine resources. Our results confirm the utility of this method for quantifying the relative contribution of metabolic versus pre-formed drinking/food water to the body water pool in birds.


1952 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 429-439
Author(s):  
R. F. EWER

1. The effects of pitressin and pitocin on water balance in Bufo carens and Xenopus laevis have been investigated. Bufo carens is most sensitive to pitressin, and shows an increased water uptake together with a well-marked anti-diuretic response. Xenopus reacts equally to the two extracts by an increase in water uptake, but there is no anti-diuresis. 2. The effects of pitressin and pitocin in causing lymph accumulation and resorbtion of fluid from the bladder have been studied in Bufo regularis. Pitressin has the greater effect, and there are indications of seasonal variations in the magnitude of the response. 3. The normal rates of water uptake of B. regularis, B. carens and Xenopus laevis have been measured. The two species of Bufo take up water rapidly, but Xenopus does so much more slowly. After desiccation the water uptake of Bufo regularis increases very considerably. This does not occur in Xenopus. 4. There is a large weight increase after injection of posterior pituitary extracts in Bufo regularis and B. carens, but not in Xenopus laevis. The findings of other workers on the magnitude of the weight increase after posterior pituitary injections are summarized. 5. The results are discussed in relation to the identity of the active principles of the anuran posterior pituitary and to the biological significance of the responses.


1991 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 112-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Sneddon ◽  
J. G. van der Walt ◽  
G. Mitchell

This study set out to investigate tolerance of the body water pool to short-term water deprivation in horses and, in particular, to assess whether feral horses from the Namib Desert showed tolerance to dehydration superior to Transvaal. Hydration status was compared in six feral horses from the Namib Desert and in six Boerperd farm horses under conditions of normal hydration and after 72 h of dehydration. Under normal hydration, the two groups did not differ significantly in water intake, plasma sodium and potassium concentrations, plasma osmolality, hematocrit, total plasma protein, body water content, or water turnover (ml.kg-0.82.day-1). The Namib horses were significantly smaller (P less than 0.0001) and turned over 5 liters less water per day than the Boerperd during normal hydration and 4 liters less during dehydration. Increases in plasma sodium concentration after 72 h of dehydration were greater (P less than 0.05) in the Namib horses. It was concluded that horses can easily tolerate water deprivation that results in a 12% reductions in body mass. The feral horses of the Namib desert were not significantly different per unit mass from domestic horses with regard to indexes of total body water content under conditions of normal hydration and after 72 h of dehydration. Their smaller size and, hence, lower water turnover might be mechanisms they use for survival in the Namib Desert.


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