Hormonal control during dehydration and rehydration in the bedouin goat

Regulation of body fluid homeostasis within narrow limits depends mainly on the maintenance of a balanced water economy. The capability of maintaining body fluids under a wide range of environmental conditions is known to be controlled primarily by the level of plasma arginine vasopressin (AVP), which regulates renal water absorption, and also by the thirst mechanism (Adolph, 1967; Fitzsimon, 1979). The conservation of solutes, particularly sodium, is as vital to the animal as the conservation of water. Sodium content is controlled primarily by the renin and aldosterone systems and by sodium appetite (Denton, 1982). This paper examines the above factors in dehydrated Bedouin goats undergoing a state of rapid rehydration.