Effects of Pituitrin and Cold on Water Exchanges of Frogs

¹ From the Department of Physiology, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York

Net water transfer across the skin and urine formation by the kidneys were studied in frogs (R. pipiens) especially under the influence of Pituitrin. The water uptake across the skin increased approximately 2.5-fold after the injection of Pituitrin, without any accompanying increase in urine formation. This Pituitrin effect in intact frogs was abolished totally or partly in extreme cold (1°C) or when the frogs were treated with nitrogen or KCN or IAA. These results are interpreted as evidence that the increase of net water transfer across the frog's skin after the application of Pituitrin might be an active process, and it may be further postulated that the energy requirement for this increased transfer is small.

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