Effect of ureteral excision on inner medullary solute concentration in rats

To elucidate the role of the ureter in urinary concentration we studied the effect of partial and complete ureteral excision on urinary osmolality and papillary interstitial osmolality and on sodium, potassium, and urea concentrations in the antidiuretic rat. Urine and descending vasa recta (DVR) plasma samples were obtained by micropuncture of the left renal papilla before (period 1) and 45 min after (period 2) complete (group 1, n = 10 rats) or partial (group 2, n = 10 rats) ureteral excision. Urine osmolality fell from 2,063 +/- 156 (mean +/- SE) to 736 +/- 116 mosmol/kgH2O after complete ureteral excision (P less than 0.01). After partial ureteral excision, the fall was less than half as great, from 2,038 +/- 167 to 1,551 +/- 162 mosmol/kgH2O (P less than 0.01). Vasa recta plasma osmolality decreased from 1,742 +/- 133 to 860 +/- 119 mosmol/kgH2O after complete excision (P less than 0.01) but only from 1,830 +/- 146 to 1,504 +/- 154 mosmol/kgH2O after partial excision (P less than 0.05). Mean DVR plasma sodium concentration declined from 339 +/- 25 to 211 +/- 25 meq/l (P less than 0.01) in group 1 but did not change in group 2 (348 +/- 21 to 347 +/- 28 meq/l). The fraction of DVR plasma osmolality accounted for by urea decreased significantly from 0.59 +/- 0.01 to 0.46 +/- 0.02 mM/(mosmol/kgH2O) in group 1 and from 0.59 +/- 0.02 to 0.49 +/- 0.03 mM/(mosmol/kgH2O) for group 2 (P less than 0.01, both groups). We interpret these findings to show that the remnant ureter moderates the fall in interstitial osmolality at least in part through preservation of the corticomedullary sodium chloride gradient.