The Influence of the Adrenal Cortex on the Metabolism of Water and Electrolytes

Abstract

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the influence of the adrenal cortex on the metabolism of water and electrolytes. The nature of the changes produced by adrenalectomy on the metabolism of sodium, potassium, and chloride and the influence of the adrenal cortex on physiologic processes are examined. The metabolism of sodium, potassium, and chloride is in large measure controlled by the hormones of the adrenal cortex. The physiologic response to administration of the hormones of the adrenal cortex is in large measure determined by the amount of sodium and chloride present in the body. The adrenal cortex furnishes a mechanism to the body, which modifies the transfer of sodium, potassium, and chloride through cellular structures. In a normal animal deprived of salt, the transfer of sodium and chloride from the glomerular filtrate to the blood against osmotic pressure until almost no sodium or chloride remains in the urine is perhaps the best example of the essential action of the adrenal cortex. The remarkable effect of sodium chloride on renal function depends on something more than restoration of blood volume and of the normal concentration of electrolytes.