A survey of the potassium concentration in the red blood cells of British breeds of sheep

Abstract

The concentrations of potassium in the whole blood of representative samples of sixteen British breeds of sheep have been studied.The proportion of sheep with a high level of potassium in the whole blood (high potassium or HK type) was found to differ significantly between breeds. It ranged from 0% in the English Leicester to 73% in the Rough Fell.There were significant differences between breeds in the mean concentration of potassium in the whole blood of both the LK and HK sheep.