EFFECT OF ADRENALINE OX PLASMA AND TISSUE CONSTITUENTS 



621 



amounting to 80 ml. As the iron content of the plasma amounts to 1.8 y 



per ml and the half-life of the plasma ^^Fe to 1.5 hr. the amount of ^^Fe 



. , r, , , . , 0.693.1.8-80 



turned over in the course ol 1 hr woiks out to be = 66 y. 



1.5 



Injection of a pharmacological dose of adrenaline increases Ihus the 

 amount of plasma iron turned over per hour to 130 y. 



It is of interest to compare this increase with a decrease in the rate 

 of plasma turnover due to total irradiation of the rabbit. As seen in 



* •O-. *8 hr after exposure to 600 r 



I hr after exposure. to ISOOr 



T 



120 180 



Time in minutps 



Fig. 6. Effect of irradiation with Roentgen rays on the rate of extrusion 

 of 5^Fe from the plasma of the rabbit. 



Fig. 6 measured 1 hr after irradiation with a high dose of 1,500 r the 

 amount of plasma iron turned over in the course of 1 hr. decreased to 

 42 y. Measured 48 hr after irradiation with 800 r only the decrease is 

 much more pronounced the amount turned over being less than 30 y. 



The difference in the rate of plasma iron turnover shortly and 2 days 

 after exposure is presumably at least partly due to the fact that shortly 

 after irradiation orthochromatic and even polychromatic erythroblasts 

 are present in marrow which were not destroyed by exposure to radiation 

 and take up ^^Fe previous to their removal into the circulation. After 

 the lapse of several hours these erythroblasts matured and were given 

 off to the circulation but were not renewed in the marrow as irradiation 

 suppresses the formation of new cells and even destroys such as are in 

 an earlier phase of their maturation. 



Experiments in which massive doses of adrenoxyl were administered 

 to rabbits did not reveal any tightening of the capillary wall to the 

 passage of ^^p^ a small increase in the rate of exodus was even observed. 

 Adrenoxyl influences thus the interchange between the vascular and 



