A comparison of the permeability of normal liver and of hepatoma to sucrose and inulin.

The distribution of sucrose and inulin has been compared with that of radio-iodihated serum albumin in slices of normal rat liver and of hepatomas produced with dimethylaminoazobenzene. I t was found that the radio-iodinated serum albumin and inulin spaces are both larger in hepatomas than in normal liver, whereas the sucrose space is larger in liver than in hepatoma. The change in volume of liver slices was compared with the change in hepatoma slices when each was exposed to solutions of varying osmolarity. The liver slices gained more weight in a hyposmotic solution and lost less weight in a hyperosmotic solution than did hepatoma slices. From these results, it is concluded that normal liver is more permeable to sucrose than is hepatoma.