Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 15, 2026

A Novel Method: Super-selective Adrenal Venous Sampling
Published on: September 15, 2017
[Plasma aldosterone in pregnancy, during labor and in the newborn infant]
Plasma aldosterone levels of mother and child during pregnancy were measured by means of radio-immuno assay without chromatography. In cases of unconspicuous pregnancy average aldosterone concentrations were found to increase from 23.2 ng/100 ml in the first trimester to 37.2 ng/100 ml in the second trimester and further to 64.0 ng/100 ml in the third.--High values were recorded from mothers (71.9 ng/100 ml) after birth and from umbilical cord blood of vaginally delivered newborns (83.4 ng/100 ml).--Aldosterone values as low as 60.9 ng/100 ml were recorded from newborns delivered by caesarean section with reduced parturitional stress. These were lower with significance than the levels recordable from newborns after spontaneous vaginal delivery (83.4 ng/100 ml). Values lower with significance were recorded from plasma of pre-eclamptic women in the third trimester (41.9 ng/100 ml).--No difference was found to exist between aldosterone concentrations in umbilico-arterial blood, on the one hand, and those in umbilico-venous blood, on the other.
Plasma aldosterone levels of mother and child during pregnancy were measured by means of radio-immuno assay without chromatography. In cases of unconspicuous pregnancy average aldosterone concentrations were found to increase from 23.2 ng/100 ml in the first trimester to 37.2 ng/100 ml in the second trimester and further to 64.0 ng/100 ml in the third.--High values were recorded from mothers (71.9 ng/100 ml) after birth and from umbilical cord blood of vaginally delivered newborns (83.4 ng/100 ml).--Aldosterone values as low as 60.9 ng/100 ml were recorded from newborns delivered by caesarean section with reduced parturitional stress. These were lower with significance than the levels recordable from newborns after spontaneous vaginal delivery (83.4 ng/100 ml). Values lower with significance were recorded from plasma of pre-eclamptic women in the third trimester (41.9 ng/100 ml).--No difference was found to exist between aldosterone concentrations in umbilico-arterial blood, on the one hand, and those in umbilico-venous blood, on the other.
Related Concept Videos
Hormonal Regulation
Hormones of the Adrenal Glands
The adrenal cortex, a powerhouse of hormone synthesis, generates over two dozen corticosteroid hormones. The zona glomerulosa produces mineralocorticoids, exemplified by aldosterone, influencing the electrolyte composition of body fluids. The synthesis of glucocorticoids such as cortisol and corticosterone...
Antihypertensive Drugs: Potassium-Sparing Diuretics
Antihypertensive Drugs: Action of β1 Blockers
Hormonal Regulation of Blood Pressure
Epinephrine and Norepinephrine
The adrenal medulla releases epinephrine and norepinephrine, catecholamines that enhance and extend the sympathetic or "fight or flight" physiological response. These hormones escalate heart rate and the force of contraction while...
Regulation of Sodium and Potassium
Sodium Regulation
Sodium ions make up approximately 90% of extracellular cations, with a normal blood plasma concentration of 136–148 mEq/L. A decrease in blood volume and pressure triggers the release of renin from granular cells in the juxtaglomerular complex (JGC), primarily in...

