Kidney function, body fluid compartments, and water and electrolyte metabolism in the monkey

¹ Department of Pediatrics and Department of Medicine, The Mount Sinai Hospital, New York City

Standard techniques for measurement of inulin clearance, total body water, inulin space, sucrose space, and T-1824 space were demonstrated to be applicable to normal untrained cynomolgus monkeys. The average of the values obtained are more like man's than are those of any other experimental animal. Normal values were established for plasma sodium, potassium, and chloride concentrations and water, sodium, potassium, and chloride contents of muscle, bone, tendon, cerebrum, medulla, and spinal cord. As reported by others, tissues of low cellularity such as bone and tendon were found to have large quantities of sodium and chloride which could not be assigned to the interstitial fluid. In keeping with the decrease of cellularity of central nervous system tissues from above downward, there was a parallel decrease in potassium and an increase in sodium and chloride contents. These studies provide normal values for salt and water composition of various tissues and fluid compartments and demonstrate the applicability of physiological techniques to the monkey, which is teleologically and apparently physiologically closest to man.

Note:
With the Technical Assistance of Herbert Haber and Blossom Kurzman