Abstract
Summary
The direct effects of gram-negative bacterial endotoxin on the heart were studied, using a Starling heart-lung preparation. The technique was modified so as to have a preparation that was anesthetic free and had a physiologic pH. The data show that endotoxin does not have a depressant action on the heart but that it did delay the onset of cardiac failure in this preparation. Such a phenomenon may be due to a weak supportive action of endotoxin on the heart which can only be detected in the absence of anesthetics, since anesthetics generally depress the heart. A possible explanation for such a phenomenon is offered.
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