Consequences of splenectomy on the compensatory mechanism of cutaneous respiration in the newt

Abstract

AbstractThe spleen of the newt Triturus cristatus carnifex (Laurenti) hoards erythrocytes when the animal is well oxygenated and releases these into circulation when the animal becomes hypoxic. This mechanism allows the newts, amphibians with prevalently cutaneous respiration, to adapt to both environmental and metabolic changes.Splenectomized specimens were anesthetized with chlorbutol (to eliminate movement and lung respiration) and observed in five different conditions: at 18°C in humid air, stirred water, and still water, and at 6°C and 33°C in humid air. The study demonstrates that the newt does not have substitute sites for erythrocyte accumulation. However, though the spleenless specimens are incapable of controlling their cutaneous oxygen supply, they can regulate their blood volume, which diminishes with decreasing temperature causing marked variations in the erythrocyte concentration and hematocrit value.The splenectomized specimens, raised for over a year at 18°C, present typically steatosic livers, with lipid droplets and extremely low hepatocyte glycogen levels, indicating a state of chronic hypoxia due to the prevalently aquatic habits of the newt. In fact, the spleenless newts have significantly fewer erythrocytes (P < 0.001) than the unoperated animals‐‐a total volume of 2.27 ± 0.46 ml per 100 g of body weight compared to 2.74 ± 0.29 (mean ± standard deviation). The limited quantity of erythrocytes can provide adequate oxygen only at low temperatures and in an airy environment or in moving water, while an immobile animal in still water undergoes hypoxia due to the formation around it of an hypoxic =diffusion boundary layer= caused by the low coefficient of oxygen diffusion in water. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.