Date of Award
1978
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Psychology
Abstract
In the present study, a series of experiments were conducted to examine how the gerbil responds to an extracellular challenge. Adult female gerbils, weighing from 50 gm. to 70 gm., were either exposed to a 10% (vol x wt) polyethelene glycol injection, or a vehicle control injection. Within each injection level, half of the animals had access· to water after injection, while the other half had access to a .9% saline solution. There was a significant increase in fluid intake associated with injection dosages and animals drank significantly more when exposed to saline than when exposed to water. It was concluded that the gerbil responds to an extracellular insult in a similar manner as the rat. Hematocrit values, taken at 12 and 24 hours after injections, provide a supportive. interpretive corollary to the fluid intake data. Delayed access to fluids following injections resulted in an inconsistent fluid intake trend.It was postulated that an additional regulatory mechanism of a limited efficiency range was operating in conjunction with fluid intake to produce this inconsistency.
Recommended Citation
Hauenstein, Patrick Carl, "Responses to hypovolaemic thirst in gerbils" (1978). Master's Theses. 1164.
https://scholarship.richmond.edu/masters-theses/1164