THE DISTRIBUTION OF WATER AND ELECTROLYTES BETWEEN BLOOD, FLUIDS AND SKELETAL MUSCLE IN PREGNANT DOGS

Abstract

Analyses were made of the water and electrolytes of blood, muscle and the gestation fluids from a group of 10 dogs in the late wks. of pregnancy. The investigation of the water and electrolyte distribution between blood and skeletal muscle of dogs in late pregnancy revealed the following: the skeletal muscle consisted of an extracellular phase amounting to an avg. of 15% and an intracellular phase amounting to an avg. of 85% of the muscle. These values were the same as those found in non-pregnant dogs; after an increase in total body water produced by the intraven. inj. of large vols. of normal isotonic salt soln., the amt. of acute edema produced in the skeletal muscle was not different from that found in the non-pregnant organism. There was no indication of an influence of normal pregnancy upon the distribution of fluid in skeletal muscle and consequently no evidence for the occurrence of edema as a result of this state.