Long-Range Observations of Sodium Exchange in Patients with Congestive Heart Failure

Long-term studies of sodium balance were made in three patients with congestive failure. The data indicate exchange of water and sodium between the intracellular and extracellular spaces. They suggest that a portion of the intracellular cation exists in a form which is not osmotically active. The term "quantometer" is applied to the previously described intracranial volume-regulating mechanism. An hypothesis is offered in which it is assumed that exhaustion of this quantometer may contribute to the retention of sodium as heart failure becomes manifest.