Abstract
In a previous report 1 the excretion of vitamin C by the fasting dog was discussed, and it was shown that hepatic injury can increase the urinary output of the vitamin. In the following experiments, the effect of severe shivering, epinephrine, and iodoacetate on the excretion of various urinary substances was investigated.
Experimental. The technic was similar to that described previously. 1
Shivering was induced by anesthetizing the animals with intravenous nembutal and then placing them in a refrigerator at 12°C. In most instances the body temperature fell to around 31 °C. Although additional nembutal kept the animals in an unconscious state, severe and almost constant shivering occurred.
Observations. Data in typical experiments are shown in Table I.
Shivering produced considerable increase in the excretion of vitamin C and creatine, an increase in urinary nitrogen and urea and a decrease in creatinine.† Following periods of shivering lasting from 24 to 72 hours, the animals developed rigid paralysis of the extremities which persisted until food was given. One dog that was not fed had severe stiffness and paralysis of the extremities for 7 days when it died apparently with weakness of the muscles of respiration. In all animals muscular paralysis was accompanied by large output of urinary creatine and vitamin C.
The effect of nembutal in animals kept at warm room temperatures was determined. Complete anesthesia associated with slight shivering induced definite increase in urinary nitrogen but only a slight increase in vitamin C excretion and was without effect on the creatine.
Iodoacetate. Because of the similarity between the rigid paralysis induced by severe shivering and that seen in animals poisoned with iodoacetate, the effect of iodoacetate was studied. The data presented in Table I show that the administration of iodoacetate induced definite creatinuria but did not change the output of vitamin C.
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