The effects of aspirated and swallowed water in drowning: Sea-water and fresh-water experiments on rats and dogs.

Experiments involving lethal and nonlethal drowning were performed in rats and dogs to investigate the effects of aspirated and swallowed water on blood composition, scrum potassium increase owing to hemolysis, damage to pulmonary tissue, and whether blood composition continues to change after cardiac arrest The ratios between aspirated and swallowed water amounted to 1:1 in fresh-water and 1:3 In sea-water drowning. The immediate effects on blood composition were mainly caused by aspirated water, whereas later effects probably were considerably influenced by swallowed water. A maximum of 33 per cent of the potassium increase in lethal drowning was due to hemolysis. Sea water produced more damage to pulmonary tissue than fresh water. After cardiac arrest, blood composition did not continue to change for at least three minutes.