OSMOTIC PROPERTIES OF THE ERYTHROCYTE

III. THE APPLICABILITY OF OSMOTIC LAWS TO THE RATE OF HEMOLYSIS IN HYPOTONIC SOLUTIONS OF NON-ELECTROLYTES

¹ From the Department of Physiology, University of Pennsylvania, and the Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Massachusetts

1. Equations are derived for predicting the relation between the time required for osmotic hemolysis and the concentration of a surrounding hypotonie medium.

2. It is shown that when allowance is made for certain known peculiarities of the erythrocyte the rate of hemolysis is, on the whole, in fairly good agreement with osmotic laws.

3. Reasons are given for believing that the increased osmotic resistance of the erythrocyte that develops within a few seconds in solutions of non-electrolytes is not caused by a leakage of salts from the cell but rather by a changed ionic equilibrium in which the normal impermeability of the cell to cations need not be lost.

4. Rough quantitative estimates are made of the permeability of the erythrocytes of the ox and of man to water.

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