Abstract
Summary
Nineteen of 20 adult dogs survived a lethal dose of uranium nitrate (5.0 mg/kg) when large doses of sodium citrate (0.23 g/kg/day for 5-10 days) were injected intravenously. The citrate injections were as effective when started as late as 67 hours after the heavy metal as when started immediately after the injection of uranium nitrate.
Objections are raised to the currently accepted view that maintenance of the alkali reserve is the mechanism whereby protection is afforded, and the suggestion is offered that sodium citrate supplies ions or molecules that keep the vital “citric acid cycle” of carbohydrate metabolism going while recovery takes place.
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