The absorption and excretion of water by the mammal. Part I.—The relation between absorption of water and its excretion by the innervated and denervated kidney

Abstract

When a large volume of water is given by mouth to the normal dog, there is usually a delay of about 10 minutes before the kidney begins to respond, and of about 50 minutes before the response reaches its maximum intensity, fig. 1. It was with the main object of apportioning this delay between the processes involved in the transport of the water, and of determining the relationship between the water-load of the body and the rate of excretion of water by the kidneys, that the work described in this paper was undertaken. As will be seen later, we have used a method which, in allowing the secretion of one kidney to be collected separately from that of the other, has offered the means of answering cognate questions involving the influence of some factors of physiological significance on the response of the kidney to water-ingestion. To these questions consideration will be given in part II, where all the facts in their theoretical interrelationship will be discussed. The delay referred to above, might be allocated theoretically to one or more of several sites and functions. First, the water might be retained in the stomach, its passage into the small gut being accurately and rapidly reflected in its excretion by the kidney. Second, absorption itself might be the principal seat of delay. Third, there might be a latent period between absorption and excretion, the spatial representation of the events occurring in this time not being, of necessity, restricted to the kidneys.

The part played by the renal nerves in the production of water diuresis in the hypophysectomized and decerebrate dog

“…Fee, and others, however, have shown that complete removal of the pituitary body does not necessarily prevent the onset of water diuresis, and, as a result of his experiments on decerebrate and hypophysectomized dogs, he suggested [1929] that the renal nerves might play a part; this suggestion was supported by the experiments of Bayliss & Fee [1930] on the perfused innervated kidney. It is true that Bykow & AlexejewBerkmann [1931], confirmed by Klisiecki, Pickford, Rothschild & Verney [1933] have shown that in the intact dog, denervation of the kidney has no action on the response to a subsequent dose of water, but it is conceivable that this might apply only to the animal with normal pituitary body, and not to the hypophysectomized and decerebrate preparation.…”

“…Klisiecki, Pickford, Rothschild & Verney [1933] have shown that in the intact dog, denervation of the kidney has no action on the response to a subsequent dose of water, but it is conceivable that this might apply only to the animal with normal pituitary body, and not to the hypophysectomized and decerebrate preparation.The first of our series of experiments was performed exactly as described by Fee [1929], with the addition that the nerves supplying the left kidney were removed as completely as possible either just before or just after decerebration. No conclusive results were obtained, and it was felt that the rather extensive abdominal interference, together with the shock of decerebration, left the preparation in an unsatisfactory condition for studying the response to the administration of water.…”

“…Klisiecki, Pickford, Rothschild & Verney [1933] have shown that in the intact dog, denervation of the kidney has no action on the response to a subsequent dose of water, but it is conceivable that this might apply only to the animal with normal pituitary body, and not to the hypophysectomized and decerebrate preparation.…”

The secretory response of the posterior pituitary to the need for water conservation1

“…of their body weight. Klisiecki et al [1933] have pointed out that the diuretic response to a second successive administration of water is always more constant than the first, due to the fact that animals, even when given free access to water, do not always maintain an even degree of hydration.…”

The effect of pituitary (posterior lobe) extract upon the urinary flow in non‐anæsthetized dogs

“…This procedure was repeated at suitable intervals until the diuresis became fully established, and the rate of urinary flow nearly uniform. The amount of ingested water was then adjusted so as not to exceed the total loss through the renal and the extrarenal channels, the volume lost through the latter route being roughly taken as 1 0 c.c./kg./hour [Klisiecki, Pickford, Rothschild and Verney, 1933]. In this way water diuresis could be maintained nearly uniform for a few hours (Fig.…”