Responses of Arterial Vessel Strips from Skin and Muscle to Serotonin 1

Abstract

Summary

Experiments were completed in isolated strips of moderately large arteries from skin and skeletal muscle. The strips were situated in a reservoir through which blood from a dog was continually circulated by means of an extracorporeal system; tension was recorded by means of Statham force transducers and a Grass recorder. The response of the artery strips from both skin and muscle was always an increase in tension during serotonin infusion, even when the same strips relaxed during acetylcholine or histamine administration. Since in situ skin vessels always constrict during serotonin administration, while in situ medium to large skeletal muscle arteries may exhibit little response to serotonin, this agent may cause some indirect action in the muscle vascular bed.