The effect of prolonged dextran administration in guinea pigs

Dextran 70 6% in 0.9% NaCl solution, injected intraperitoneally in guinea pigs, 10 ml/kg b.w./day, during a period of 27 days brought the lowering of the plasma proteins level, whie the total colloid osmostic pressure (due to Dectran and proteins) remained close to that of the control group. The concentration of typhus 0 antibodies and the number of precipitation lines assayed during immunodiffusion in gel were lower than in thd control group. The diminishing of the red blood cells number and of the amount of hemoglobin corresponds to the decreasing proportion of the erythroblastic series (in the bone marrow). Histological changes in the liver and in the kidney are minimal and could be explained by the effort made by these depurating organs to eliminate Dextran from the body.