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THE EFFECTS OF SODIUM DEPLETION AND POTASSIUM SUPPLEMENTS UPON ELECTRICAL POTENTIALS IN THE RUMEN OF THE SHEEP
Author(s) -
Scott D.
Publication year - 1966
Publication title -
quarterly journal of experimental physiology and cognate medical sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.925
H-Index - 101
eISSN - 1469-445X
pISSN - 0033-5541
DOI - 10.1113/expphysiol.1966.sp001825
Subject(s) - rumen , saliva , potassium , sodium , chemistry , endocrinology , medicine , zoology , biochemistry , biology , organic chemistry , fermentation
Measurements were made of the electrical potential gradient between the blood and the rumen contents of sheep made sodium deficient by the withdrawal of parotid saliva. Loss of saliva resulted in an increase in the concentration of potassium and a fall in the concentration of sodium in the rumen fluid, and these changes were associated with an increase in the rumen potential. The results suggest that a potential arising from the passive diffusion of potassium into the blood may contribute significantly to the total potential which is generated across the rumen wall. The change in rumen composition appears to be due to a change in the relative amounts of sodium and potassium entering the rumen. This results from both the loss of saliva and a change in the composition of saliva entering the rumen, since the ratio of Na: K in the parotid saliva falls in response to sodium deficit through the secretion of adrenal hormones. There is, so far, no indication that adrenal hormones exert any independent influence on the rumen potential other than through a change in the composition of the saliva and rumen fluid.