Some aspects of the metabolism of sodium and potassium in man

Abstract

Determinations of the normal values of sodium and potassium in human serum were made using a group of twenty-four healthy young men as subjects. It may be concluded from this research that the distribution of potassium is in accordance with the Gibbs-Donnan membrane equilibrium, and that potassium exists in a freely diffusible state in serum. In normal subjects, therefore, a useful measuement of sodium and potassium in interstitial fluids may be obtained from a knowledge of the concentration of these elements in serum.