Relationship of Organ Weight and Swimming Performance in the Albino Rat |
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| Authors: | William D McArdle Henry J Montoye |
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| Institution: | 1. Queens College of the City University of New York , Flushing , New York , USA;2. University of Michigan , Ann Arbor , Michigan , USA |
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| Abstract: | Abstract The relationship between organ weight and swimming capacity was determined in 42 male albino rats. Upon completion of a 4-week training program, the animals were forced to swim to exhaustion with 2 percent of the body weight attached. They were sacrificed and specific gravity and organ weights determined. The results warrant the following conclusions: A significant (p < .05) but low correlation exists between the relative weight of the spleen and lungs with swimming performance. The correlation of relative heart weight and swimming performance approached statistical significance (p < .06). Attaching a weight proportional to the body weight to increase the energy cost of swimming penalizes the heavier animals. Correcting for the inverse relationship between body weight and swim time does not alter appreciably the relationships between organ weights and swim time. |
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