THE EXCRETION OF SODIUM CHLORID SOLUTION INJECTED SUBCUTANEOUSLY

Hypodermoclysis as a means of replacing the loss of fluid which occurs in severe diarrhea, protracted vomiting or as a result of hemorrhage has been employed for a number of years with an increasing appreciation of its value in these conditions. Our studies of diarrheal stools showed great loss of salts, especially the more soluble ones, sustained in these intestinal conditions. It seemed to us, therefore, that benefit should result from the restitution not only of the water lost, but also of some of the salts themselves. The nature of the variations in weight after hypodermoclysis suggested that these were due to something more than simply a retention of the water injected. Moreover, in view of the necessity in many cases of repeating the injections, it was desirable to know exactly what the salt retention was. The observations which are included in this paper were undertaken to determine if any