Abstract
Summary
Experiments were performed to determine whether physiologic stimulation of carotid chemoreceptors produces different responses in blood vessels of skin and muscle. Carotid chemoreceptors of anesthetized dogs were stimulated with hypoxic and hypercapnic blood and responses were observed in the isolated, perfused gracilis muscle and hindpaw. Chemoreceptor stimulation produced vasoconstriction in the muscle and vasodilatation in the paw (a predominantly cutaneous vascular bed). Responses to hy-poxia without hypercapnic acidosis tended to be less pronounced. The study indicates that physiologic stimulation of carotid chemoreceptors produces contrasting responses in different vascular beds.
This study was supported by Clinical Investigator-ships from the Veterans Administration, by research Grants Nos. HL 09835, HL 02644, HL 14388, and HL 16066, and Research Career Development Award HL-K4-28749 from the National Heart and Lung Institute, and by grants from the American and Iowa Heart Associations.
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