SECRETION OF INTRAVENOUSLY INJECTED ELECTROLYTES IN THE SUBMAXILLARY SALIVA OF CATS

¹ Department of Physiology, School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, N. Y.

Radioactive sodium, potassium, chlorine, fluorine and phosphorus appeared in the submaxillary saliva of cats within one minute after injection into the femoral vein during salivary secretion produced by either chorda excitation or pilocarpine injection.

A second dose of pilocarpine after injection of the radioactive elements usually increased the rates of secretion of these substances. For sodium and chlorine this augmentation was produced by increases in both rate of salivary secretion and concentration of the saliva, while for potassium and phosphorus it was due entirely to increase in the rate of saliva production.

Potassium entered the stimulated submaxillary gland from the blood by engulfment rather than by exchange. The material so ingested by the gland probably appeared in the saliva only after a time lag.