Abstract
Summary
The hematocrits of anesthetized dogs increased and their respiratory rates rose during intravenous infusion of 20 mg of methylene blue per kg of body weight. Blood pressure and heart rate responses were variable. In unanesthetized rats, intraperitoneal injections of 65 mg of methylene blue per kg of body weight induced marked increases in hematocrit. Splenectomy and phenoxybenzamine, an alpha sympathetic blocking agent, abolished the hematocrit response to methylene blue, indicating that reflex splenic contraction was the cause of the increase in hematocrit.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.