On the significance of determining the osmotic pressure of blood proteins in the Clinic of internal Diseases

Currently, in the question of the factors regulating water metabolism, both in physiological and pathological conditions, great importance is given to the osmotic pressure of blood proteins. According to the scheme of Govaerts, Schade, Krogh, we imagine that the blood in the capillaries is under the influence of two forces acting in the opposite direction-the hydrostatic pressure of blood in the capillaries, which causes the diffusion of fluid from the capillaries into the tissues, and the force of osmotic pressure of blood proteins, which attracts fluid from the tissues into the capillaries. The capillary wall, impervious to protein colloids and permeable to water and salts, thus fulfills the role of a semipermeable membrane. The equilibrium of water exchange is determined by the equilibrium of these two antagonistic forces acting like two pumps, one of which pushes the liquid out of the capillary (hydrostatic pressure of blood in the capillary), and the other sucks the liquid into the capillary (osmotic pressure of blood proteins).