Determination of extracellular space in amphibian muscle

Abstract

The volumes of distribution of inulin and dextran in the sartorius, stomach, and cardiac muscle of the frog agree rather closely. That these spaces represent the volume of extracellular water is supported by the observation that efflux of sucrose can be divided into a fast and a slow phase and that the fast-moving fraction corresponds closely with inulin space determined in the same muscle. These and other findings confirm that sugars and related substances penetrate slowly into part of the fiber water and that, therefore, their volume of distribution does not accurately represent the volume of extracellular water. The kinetics of efflux of sucrose is consistent with the assumption that the movement of sugars is determined by the resistance of the cell surface as well as by internal diffusion. In connective tissue, sucrose and inulin are excluded only from a small part of the total water.