Iron Content of Intestinal Lymph of Rats

Abstract

Summary

The iron content of intestinal lymph of rats maintained on a normal diet is relatively constant over periods as long as seven days. At lymph outputs of one ml per hour, there is an hourly output of 0.5 γ of iron. With a 3- to 4-fold increase of lymph volume, iron concentration falls off and total output remains less than 1.0 γ per hour. The iron present in lymph is non-dialyzable at pH 7.0 to 4.7, but is dialyzable at pH 1.5. Added iron, up to concentrations of 48 γ per 100 ml in 2 specimens of pooled lymph, was non-dialyzable at pH 7, but all added iron in excess of this concentration was dialyzable.