Blood Volume, Intracellular and Extracellular Fluid Spaces in Normal Dogs and in Dogs With Ascites Secondary to Severe Tricuspid Insufficiency

¹ From the Departments of Surgery and Physiology, Howard University School of Medicine, Washington, D. C.

Twenty-two normal and 12 dogs with ascites secondary to surgically induced isolated, total tricuspid insufficiency or a combination of tricuspid insufficiency with bilateral arteriovenous fistulae in the hind extremities were studied. In the ascitic animals: a) the blood volume, as determined by the use of rose bengal dye, increased secondary to an elevation in the plasma volume. b) The total body water, as measured by use of antipyrine, remained unchanged but the thiocyanate space increased and the calculated intracellular space was comparably diminished. c) The excretory hepatic function as evaluated by the rose bengal dye method was significantly depressed whereas the capacity of the liver to excrete bromsulfalein was not impaired. This investigation provides a basis for evaluating the influences of adrenalectomy among a similar group of ascitic dogs with tricuspid insufficiency.