Abstract
The countercurrent principle has been found to be operating in a variety of special designs and for very different purposes throughout the vertebrate kingdom. In the teleost fish the rete mirabile is capable of creating or at least preserving an appropriate gas pressure in the swimbladder, which in some deep sea fish may amount to several hundreds of atmospheres. In warm blooded animals—birds and mammals, including man—the countercurrent exchange of heat is used for the conservation of normal body temperature in a cold environment. Considering the time limitation, I shall restrict myself to some aspects of the countercurrent multiplier system of the mammalian kidney.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Hargitay, B., and W. Kuhn, 1951: Z. Elektrochem. 55, 539.
Wirz, H., 1953: Hely. Physiol. Acta 11, 20.
Gott Gottschalk, C. W., and M. Mylle, 1959: Amer. J. Physiol. 196, 927.
Wirz, H., 1956: Hely. Physiol. Acta 14, 353.
Gottschalk, C. W., 1961: The Physiologist 4, 35.
Ullrich, K. J., G. Rumrich, and G. Fuchs, 1964: PflĂĽgers Arch. 280, 99.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1967 Springer-Verlag Wien
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Wirz, H. (1967). Countercurrent Principle. In: Bolis, L., Capraro, V., Porter, K.R., Robertson, J.D. (eds) Symposium on Biophysics and Physiology of Biological Transport. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-25134-8_65
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-25134-8_65
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-662-23148-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-662-25134-8
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive