Volume and composition of body fluids: The lasting impact of the first chapter of the Fish Physiology series and the value of summary tables

This chapter written by Holmes and Donaldson (1969) is the first of the Fish Physiology series. In their chapter, the authors painstakingly summarized the literature on body fluid volumes and ionic compositions of diverse fish species and their work has stood the test of time as an invaluable reference for fish physiologists. In this overview, we discuss the impact that this chapter has had as a reference for typical body fluid volumes and ion compositions in fishes in several fields, some extending beyond fish physiology. In addition, we present 10 insights made by Holmes and Donaldson (1969), some of which seem to have anticipated important research areas, while others have gone largely overlooked. This chapter is clearly a classic in the Fish Physiology series which, nearly 6 decades later, still has the potential to catalyze new avenues of research in the field.