[Water-salt metabolism in members of the crew of Saliut-4].

The paper presents the results of studying the fluid-electrolyte metabolism in P. I. Klimuk and V. I. Sevastyanov before and after their 63-day flight aboard the orbital station Salyut-4. Postflight weight losses in P.I. Klimuk and V.I. Sevastyanov were 5.6 and 3.5%, respectively, the losses being attributed to body dehydration. Postflight both cosmonauts showed a trend for an increased renal excretion of potassium, magnesium, and calcium as compared with their food intake. Those were more expressed on the day after the water load application. Possible causes of the changes and the pattern of recovery of fluid-electrolyte metabolism after a prolonged space flight are discussed.