Studies on Hepatic Sulfobromophthalein Removal During Infusion

Experiments were performed with the infusion of sulfobromophthalein (BSP) for brief periods (15 min.) in man, following an initial massive dose of dye at the beginning of the experiment. Infusion was such as to ensure a continuous increase in the plasma BSP level. In these conditions, BSP removal due to the storage capacity of the liver was studied. The rate of removal was found to depend on the concentration gradients of BSP/protein in the serum and in the liver cell. It was also shown that the values for the hepatic removal determined according to this method are correlated in a highly significant manner with the values for the BSP clearance.