Roles of the skin and gills in sodium and water exchanges in neotenic urodele amphibians.
Neotenic urodele amphibians that possess prominent external gills absorb substantial amounts of water and sodium across their integument. Ligation of the gills did not change the uptake of either water or sodium in Necturus maculosus or Ambystoma tigrinum. In anuran tadpoles and fish the gills are known to be a major site of such exchanges. The possible physiological significance of such a restricted branchial permeability in aquatic urodeles is discussed as well as the bases for these special properties.
D000557:Ambystoma; D000818:Animals; D001693:Biological Transport, Active; D001834:Body Water / Q000378:metabolism*; D005880:Gills / Q000378:metabolism*; D007700:Kinetics; D012867:Skin / Q000378:metabolism*; D012964:Sodium / Q000378:metabolism*
D012964:Sodium