Kidney function in the crab-eating frog (Rana cancrivora).

Abstract

ABSTRACT A study has been made of kidney function in the crab-eating frog, Rana cancrivora, of south-east Asia. This frog can live in full-strength sea water; in such concentrated media its blood is slightly hypertonic to the medium, and a considerable part of the osmotic concentration is due to urea. In concentrated media the excretion of urea is greatly diminished. This is not due to active tubular reabsorption of urea, but primarily to a low urine flow caused by increased tubular reabsorption of water and reduced glomerular filtration. In concentrated media, as compared with dilute media, only a few percent of the filtered urea appears in the urine. Osmoregulation of the crab-eating frog in sea water resembles that of elasmobranchs except in that there is no evidence of active tubular reabsorption of urea in the frog.