Nasal Salt Excretion and the Possible Function of the Cloaca in Water Conservation
- 6 December 1963
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Science
- Vol. 142 (3597), 1300-1301
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.142.3597.1300
Abstract
Secretion of concentrated salt solutions from the nasal region was observed in several terrestrial birds and reptiles. In the secreted fluid potassium usually exceeded sodium concentrations, with chloride and bicarbonate as the major anions. It is suggested that the extrarenal excretion of salts is related to the reabsorption of water in the cloaca, that it is necessary for the production of urine with a particularly low water content, and perhaps was prerequisite for the evolution of efficient cloacal water conservation.Keywords
This publication has 4 references indexed in Scilit:
- Physiology of the Kidney and Body FluidsAnesthesiology, 1963
- The Salt-Secreting Gland of Marine BirdsCirculation, 1960
- Thermodynamic Analysis of the Intracellular Osmotic Gradient Hypothesis of Active Water TransportScience, 1955
- WATER METABOLISM OF THE CHICKEN (GALLUS DOMESTICUS) WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE RÔLE OF THE CLOACAAmerican Journal of Physiology-Legacy Content, 1942