Effects of Elevated Plasma Sodium Concentration on Sodium and Potassium in the Erythrocyte of the Lizard Trachysaurus rugosus (Gray)

Abstract

THE lizard Trachysaurus rugosus has been shown to tolerate very high plasma sodium concentrations, for example, 240 m. equiv./l., both in its natural habitat during summer and in the laboratory after the injection of sodium chloride solution¹. The injected sodium chlorate reached osmotic equilibrium with the total body water but electrolyte changes inside the cells were not determined. The nucleated erythrocytes of Trachysaurus offered a useful starting point for intracellular studies in vivo. It has been shown in vitro that the sodium concentration in the nucleated erythrocytes of the turtle is actively maintained by respiration².