AN EXPERIMENTAL ANALYSIS OF OEDEMA 



19 



weight when immersed in an isotonic saline solution acidu- 

 lated with lactic acid; but we can nevertheless show by ex- 

 periment that no increase in weight occurs when normal 

 resting muscle is immersed in an acidulated isotonic Ringer 's 

 solution having a pH value of 4.8. As shown in table 5, the 

 weight of such muscles remains practically stationary for 

 a period of twenty-three hours, and in this respect their be- 

 havior resembles that of normal resting muscles immersed in 

 isotonic Ringer's solution having a pH value of 7.0. We 

 may therefore conclude that the swelling of muscles, or the 



TABLE 5 



Behavior of normal resting gastrocnemius muscles from three different frogs 

 (A, B, and C), when muscles are immersed in the isotonic Ringer's solution 

 acididated with lactic acid. 



Isotonic Ringer's solution: A = 0.445° — pH, 4.S. Room temperature. 



intracellular (interstitial?) form of oedema observed in li- 

 gated oedematous frogs, is not necessarily associated with an 

 overproduction of acid in the tissues, but results rather from 

 differences in osmotic pressure that exist in the tissue fluids, 

 and in the lymph in the tissue spaces from which the cells of 

 the tissues constantly receive their lymph supply. 



Under normal conditions, it is through the agency of the 

 vascular system that an excess of free water in the body is 

 made available to the kidneys, and is by them excreted. In 

 the case of an oedema resulting from the ligation of the leg 

 or the ligation of the ureters, this means of eliminating free 

 water from the body is either locally or generally discon- 



