Abstract
SHEEP with permanent unilateral parotid fistulæ may be maintained in good health indefinitely provided that sufficient sodium bicarbonate is added to the daily dietary intake to compensate for that lost in the hypertonic alkaline parotid saliva. It has been shown1 that withdrawal of this supplementary sodium intake causes sodium depletion and, as depletion increases, the ratio of sodium to potassium in the parotid saliva falls progressively from a normal value of 180 : 10 to as low as 10 : 180. This response to sodium depletion is not significantly affected by changes in the potassium intake. Restoration of the dietary sodium bicarbonate supplement, in an amount sufficient to correct the sodium depletion, causes the composition of the parotid saliva to return to normal.
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References
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McDONALD, I., DENTON, D. Delayed Effect of Ipsilateral Intracarotid Infusion of Sodium Chloride on the Composition of the Parotid Saliva of Sodium-depleted Sheep. Nature 177, 1035–1036 (1956). https://doi.org/10.1038/1771035a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1771035a0
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