Measurement of Total Body Water in the Dog with Antipyrine. ∗

Abstract

Summary and Conclusions

1. Intravenously injected antipyrine is destroyed in the dog at the rate of 20 to 60% per hour. 2. Nevertheless, antipyrine space may be used for the determination of total body water in the dog, because of the fact that the distribution of antipyrine appears to be essentially complete after 10 minutes. 3. Dogs in adequate nutritional status are found to have antipyrine spaces of 53.9% to 67.9%. The average value obtained from 8 normal dogs was 59.9%. 4. Inadequate nutrition and emaciation result in an increase in the antipyrine space, a result consistent with the idea that body water is related more closely to lean body mass than to body weight.