Fluid transport by rabbit preimplantation blastocysts in vitro

Abstract

Experiments were performed to determine the osmotic relationship between blastocoelic fluid and its environment and to gain evidence for the role of local osmosis in fluid transport by the rabbit blastocyst. The data are consistent with blastocoele fluid accumulation occurring by local osmosis into closed channels, such as the lateral intercellular spaces. Analyses of variance of the concentrations of Na, Cl, K, Ca, Mg, S and P in the blastocoele fluids showed that the means varied significantly with changes in the concentration of NaCl in the bathing medium.