An electromagnetic flow sensor was placed on the distal aorta of sheep fetuses in utero, and catheters were placed in a femoral artery and the common umbilical vein. Catheters were also placed in a carotid artery and a uterine vein of the pregnant ewe. Three days postoperatively maternal plasma was hyperosmotic with respect to fetal plasma by all methods: +5.8 +/- 1.4 SE by vapor-pressure osmometry, +2.2 +/- 0.7 SE by freezing-point depression osmometry corrected for bicarbonate loss; and +3.26 mosmol/liter by chemical measurement of plasma constituents. Maternal or fetal plasma was made hypertonic in vivo by infusion of concentrated solutions of mannitol, sucrose, or NaCl. Transplacental water flux was calculated from placental blood flows and arteriovenous differences in water content of the blood. The apparent osmotic conductivity of the placenta was 61 ml2-mosmol-1-kg-1, but this value should be divided by an unknown reflection coefficient to yield the true osmotic conductivity. Separate measurements were made of the placental diffusional permeability of Na+ and Cl- in five chronically prepared sheep fetuses: PSNa+ =0.20 +/- 0.04, PSCl- = 0.27 +/- 0.04 ml/(min-kg fetus). There was a highly significant positive regression between (total) placental permeability and fetal weight.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.