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Effects of Semistarvation on the Distribution of Erythrocytes and Plasma in Organs and Tissues of the Rat¹

Department of Anatomy, University of Washington, Seattle

The distribution of erythrocytes tagged with Fe⁵⁹ and plasma labeled with I¹³¹ was studied in rats under conditions of semi-starvation on diets of equal caloric value containing either adequate amounts of protein or 4 times that amount. It was found that, after an experimental period of two weeks, the total blood volume of the rats per unit of weight changed very little. At this time, however, the amounts of blood in certain organs and tissues differed significantly from those in normal rats. For example, the increased content of erythrocytes in bone, myocardium, lung, testis and some parts of the central nervous system was noteworthy. Elsewhere the predominant change was in the amount of plasma present.

The hematocrit of the rat as a whole increased approximately 20% regardless of the amount of protein in the diet, but in certain organs changes in the content of erythrocytes and plasma varied with the amounts of protein ingested. In this regard, the kidney, during that type of semistarvation, showed great stability. Its content of both plasma and red cells remained almost constant.

Manuscript received 30 September 1957.