Relationship between colloid osmotic pressure and plasma protein concentration in cattle, horses, dogs, and cats

Abstract

Summary The relationship between colloid osmotic pressure ( cop ) and protein concentration was investigated for purified proteins and plasma samples obtained from cattle, horses, dogs, and cats. At equivalent concentrations, bovine albumin exerted a cop that exceeded that of γ-globulins by a mean factor of 4.4. Similar relationships between cop and protein were observed in the other species. Consequently, for a given total protein concentration, cop was dependent on the albumin/γ-globulins ratio. A commonly used nomogram for estimating cop from protein concentration, the Landis-Pappenheimer equation, did not provide reliable results for plasma samples from these species.