THE WATER AND ELECTROLYTE METABOLISM OF RAT DIAPHRAGM IN VITRO

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Abstract
The distribution of water and Na and K between the cell and synthetic environments was studied in rat diaphragm muscle. It was found that: the amount of intracellular water is markedly increased at 0[degree]C in 02 in media up to 0.75 osmolar; optimal conditions of temperature and O2 are necessary to prevent or reduce the uptake of water; swelling at reduced temperatures and under hypoxic conditions is related to the O2 uptake; the loss of tissue solid'' during incubation does not have any significant effect on the calculation of the total Na and K in the tissue, in vivo and in vitro at optimal conditions is slightly in excess of that in the plasma water or incubating medium[long dash]this is believed not to represent an active hypertonicity; concomitant with the uptake of water there are marked redistributions of Na and K, the gain of Na being greater than the loss of K. It is concluded that the swelling of tissue cells under conditions that inhibit oxidative metabo-lism is primarily due to the redistribution of electrolytes and that the natural distribution of water in muscle is determined by active maintenance of the concentration gradients of Na and K across the cell membrane.

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