Abstract
Givens and Mendel 1 have found that “Administration of hydrochloric acid produced no significant effect upon the balance of N, Ca, and Mg in the dog.” Stehle 2 has stated that “the administration of hydrochloric acid by mouth to the dog causes an increased excretion of calcium and magnesium as well as of sodium and potassium.” New experiments have been conducted on two dogs which received a diet poor in lime, consisting of meat, cracker meal, lard, and agar. During two long periods each animal received daily 2 gm. hydrochloric acid. The results with such a diet corroborate our former statement and do not support the conclusion of Stehle.
Similar experiments were undertaken with these dogs on a diet enriched in lime by the addition of dried milk. With one animal a negative calcium balance was appreciably increased. It seems unlikely, however, that this outcome is a neutralization phenomenon. It has repeatedly been shown that when acid is introduced into the organism the increased production of ammonia is sufficient to neutralize it.
When sodium chloride instead of hydrochloric acid was added to the diet rich in lime the urinary calcium output was increased and the calcium balance was favorably affected.
The magnesium balance and the partition of this element between the different paths of excretion was not significantly altered in any of the experiments just described.
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