Extravascular circulation of plasma proteins.

The escape of radioiodinated serum albumin (RISA) from the circulation and lymphatic albumin transport was investigated in anaesthetized rabbits. The fraction of RISA escaping each hour from the circulation was 0.0932 +/- 0.0075, lymphatic albumin transport in the thoracic duct was 0.0389 +/- 0.0026 in the hepatic lymph trunk 0.0115 +/- 0.016, in the intestinal trunk 0.0122 +/- 0.0037 and in the renal lymphatics 0.0185 +/- 0.0021. About 78% of the lymph and 91% of albumin transported by the thoracic duct originated from the abdominal and renal lymphatics. The ratio of albumin escape from the circulation versus lymphatic return was 2.36. From the first slopes of the lymphatic RISA activity curves the albumin escape rates were calculated and found to be 1.89 in the liver, 2.32 in the kidney, 0.69 in the intestine and 0.20 g h-1 kg-1 tissue weight in the leg (skin). The lymph vessels returned 17% of the escaped albumin, from the liver about 12% from the intestines and almost all from the kidneys. A very strong correlation (r = 0.996) was found between lymph to plasma albumin concentration ratios and the first slopes of the RISA equilibration curves, proving that protein concentration in the lymph is determined by the rate of protein escape from the capillaries and that the rates obtained from the first slopes of the RISA cpm/g albumin in lymph per RISA cpm/g albumin in plasma equilibration curves are a measure of capillary permeability to protein.