Questions and replies: role of the collecting tubule in fluid, sodium, and potassium balance.

In terms of day-to-day regulation of fluid and electrolyte balance, the collecting tubule system appears to occupy a paramount position among segments of the renal tubule. Controversy has arisen concerning the quantitative contribution by the collecting tubule system to the regulation of individual solute excretion, which in part may be due to differences among the investigative techniques employed. In this Editorial Review, R. L. Jamison summarizes current views on the function of the collecting tubule system, particularly with regard to regulation of sodium and potassium excretion, and then poses seven questions pertaining to this topic. H. Sonnenberg, who has revived the microcatheterization technique, and J. H. Stein, whose group has employed the micropuncture method, respond to these questions. The key issues addressed are: 1) the principal factors that influence transtubular movement of sodium and potassium across the collecting tubule; 2) the limitations and potential artifacts of the microcatheterization and micropuncture techniques when used to examine the function of the collecting tubule; 3) apparent discrepancies among results obtained by micropuncture in vivo, microcatheterization in vivo, and microperfusion in vitro of the collecting tubule; and 4) major unresolved questions concerning the function of the collecting tubule.