The effect of saline water ingestion on water turnover rates and tritiated water space in sheep

Abstract

Tritiated water has been used to compare the water turnover rates and water spaces in sheep which had become accustomed to consuming 1.3 % salt water with those of sheep allowed to drink fresh water. The sheep drinking the saline water (mean body weight 42.0 kg) had mean turnover rates of 207 ml/kg/day compared with 90.3 ml/kg/day for sheep drinking fresh water (mean body weight 38.3 kg). The sheep on salt water revealed a mean tritiated water space of 27.5 kg while that of the sheep on fresh water was 23.5 kg.