OSMOTIC RELATIONS BETWEEN BLOOD AND BODY FLUIDS

Abstract

III. By the Hill method for the determination of vapor pressure, the blood and aqueous humor of 27 normal dogs were found isotonic. Intravenous and oral administration of hypertonic saline or water resulted respectively in an increase or decrease in the osmotic pressure of both fluids. Observations indicated that osmotic equilibration proceeds with greater facility after blood concentration than after dilution, due probably to a greater facility for water to leave the anterior chamber than to enter against an increasing intraocular pressure.[long dash]IV. Simultaneous collections were made of dogs'' blood, hepatic bile, pancreatic juice and lymph. Measurement of the osmotic pressure of these fluids, using the Hill method, showed them to be practically isotonic. Ex-treme variations in the osmotic pressure of the blood, produced by the administration of hypertonic saline or water, resulted in parallel changes in the osmotic pressure of the above fluids. It is believed that whereas the alimentary glands are unique in the production of their characteristic secretions, the total concentration of their constituents is determined by a process in common, namely, osmotic equilibration with the circulating fluid.