Renal function and blood chemistry in Cetacea

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Abstract
Clearance experiments were done on dolphins utilizing intravenous infusions, bladder catheterization for urine collection, and blood sampling at the midpoint of each clearance period. In addition, blood was collected from Cetacea of 6 different species for estimation of various plasma solutes. Average plasma values were: Na 156 mEq/l, K 4.2 mEq/1, Cl 95 mEq/l, urea 16.6 millimoles/1, osmolality 322 millios-mols/kg water, mean arterial blood pressure 157 mm Hg. Clearance experiments showed that following a meal of fish, glomerular filtration rate [GFR], renal, plasma flow [RPF], and urine flow all increased. By 6 hr. GFR and RPF declined to minimal values while urine flow remained elevated. Urine osmolality remained high regardless of a more than 25-fold increase in urine flow rates. Only a very slight correlation was found between urine volume and urine osmolality when the data from all experiments were plotted. Introduction of tap water (2.5% of body wt) by stomach tube did not initiate a diuresis in the dolphin. The mechanism by which the dolphin regulates urine flow following a meal is as yet unclear.

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