Effect of chronic cardiac denervation on renal response to saline infusion

Abstract

The effect of infusion of isotonic saline solution on sodium reabsorption in the proximal tubule and on sodium excretion by the dog kidney was studied in normal dogs and dogs with hearts that had been previously denervated. Infusion of isotonic saline solution resulted in a natriuresis in both control and "denervated" dogs, although the percentage of filtered sodium that was excreted following infusion of saline was significantly smaller in denervated dogs than in control dogs. The difference in sodium excretion between control and denervated dogs following infusion of saline was not due to an interruption of the mechanism responsible for the depression of sodium reabsorption by the proximal tubule, since the measured depression following infusion of saline in denervated dogs was not significantly different from that in control dogs. It is concluded that the extrinsic cardiac nerves play only a minor role in the regulation of sodium excretion by the kidneys.