Studies on the fluid balance of the calf. 3

Volumes, biological half-life values, and transfer rates of the fluid compartments of whole-body water and extracellular space were recorded from 37 clinically intact calves, aged between two days and six weeks, as well as from 50 animals with diarrhea, aged between four days and six weeks. The effect of infusion on fluid spaces of calves with diarrhea was also investigated. Transfer rates of whole-body water and extracellular space were 4.6 ml or 1.5 mlkg-1hr-1 for calves aged two weeks and were 6.2 ml or 1.8 mlkg-1hr-1 for animals between five and six weeks of age. Diarrhea in young calves was found to increase the transfer rate of whole-body water to 6.3 mlkg-1hr-1 (137 per cent) in surviving individuals or to 12.1 mlkg-1hr-1 (263 per cent) in those individuals which died within two days. The transfer rates for extracellular space increased even more clearly to 2.4 mlkg-1hr-1 (160 per cent) in survivors and to 7.4 mlkg-1hr-1 (493 per cent) in dying calves. The reduced volumes of fluid spaces were largely normalized at least by the end of infusion in calves with moderate to severe diarrhea which received intravenous applications of 1.0 l or 1.5 l of an electrolyte-glucose solution. The calves thus treated still exhibited, however, clearly increased transfer rates for???