HYPOKALEMIA IN ADRENALECTOMIZED DOGS DURING ACUTE DECOMPRESSION STRESS12

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Abstract
IT HAS been previously reported from this laboratory that decompression of intact, unanesthetized dogs to a simulated altitude of 30,000 feet for 30 to 90 minutes consistently results in a decrease in the plasma potassium concentration (1). The present study was undertaken primarily to determine whether or not a similar response occurs in adrenalectomized dogs upon exposure to this altitude for a corresponding period of time. The desirability of such an investigation was indicated by recent reports that in the cat (2) and also in the rat (3) the characteristic plasma potassium response to altitudes of 28,000 to 30,000 feet is abolished by adrenalectomy and is therefore apparently mediated by the adrenal glands.