Effect of Adrenalectomy upon Intestinal Absorption of Sodium Chloride

Abstract

It is well established that adrenal insufficiency provokes a negative salt and water balance in most mammalian organisms which have been studied, and that this condition can be corrected for the most part by cortical hormone and/or salt therapy. Several workers have reported that this negative balance is due to a primary renal effect; some have indicated it to be due also to primary extra-renal disturbances; and still others have stated that the electrolyte disturbances are secondary to disturbances in carbohydrate metabolism.

In another study 1 it was found that healthy adrenalectomized rats, maintained on Rubin-Krick salt drinking-fluid and stock diet for periods up to 2 weeks, absorbed glucose at the same rate as controls. A modified Cori technic was used, employing the intact rat. This finding confirmed Deuel, et al. 2 , who also used this technic; and failed to confirm the conclusions of Wilbrandt and Lengyel, 3 and Verzar, et al. 4 who used the isolated intestinal loops of rats, cats, and dogs.

The present study indicates that healthy adrenalectomized rats absorbed NaCl more slowly than controls. The Cori technic was used in preliminary studies, and both sodium 5 , 6 and chloride 7 , 8 of the minced, leached gastrointestinal tract was determined in most cases, although this was not essential since stomach-emptying of control and adrenalectomized rats was comparable for both sodium and chloride. The stomach-emptying of the adrenalectomized rats varied far more than that of the controls, however, so that for small differences in intestinal absorption, the stomachs should be separately analyzed.

The intestinal absorption rates of both Na and Cl were comparable and those of the adrenalectomized animals were considerably less than the controls, although more variable.