STUDIES ON THE SUPRARENAL CORTEX : III. PLASMA ELECTROLYTES AND ELECTROLYTE EXCRETION DURING SUPRARENAL INSUFFICIENCY IN THE DOG

A characteristic alteration in the electrolyte structure of the blood plasma of the suprarenalectomized dog occurs when injections of cortical extract are stopped. This alteration progresses during the course of the suprarenal insufficiency, parallel with the hemoconcentration and the loss in weight. When injections of cortical extract are resumed, the electrolyte structure returns to its original form, the alterations paralleling the dilution of the blood and the return of the body weight to its original level. The hemoconcentration, with the resulting physiological changes which take place in the suprarenalectomized dog after the cessation of cortical extract injections, is associated with a loss of sodium and chloride, accompanied by their proper complement of body water, by way of the kidney. Since this effect is produced in the suprarenalectomized animal, well nourished and in excellent condition, solely by cessation of injections of the cortical hormone, and since the reverse process of repair of the electrolyte and water losses can be effected solely by resumption of extract injections, it follows that all of the observed phenomena are due to this cause, and to this alone. It can be concluded that one function of the cortical extract in the suprarenalectomized dog is that of participation in the regulation of the sodium and chloride metabolism, and consequently, of the balance and distribution of water. The loss of water, in the absence of the cortical hormone, is sustained partly by the blood plasma, but to a far greater extent by the interstitial body fluid. The available evidence points to the kidney as the locus of this regulatory function of the cortical hormone.