Abstract
In a previous communication 1 it was noted that there is an age factor in the production of bradycardia in dogs following ligation and division of common bile duct. A slowing of the heart action was observed only in the puppy; in the adult animal a slight acceleration of the heart rate was the rule. The heart rate was determined by ausculation supplemented, in the puppy, by the electrocardiogram. The present investigation purposed to note whether the heart rate of the adult animal as determined by the latter method was in agreement with ausculatory findings, and also to elucidate electrocardiographic abnormalities.
This report is based upon a study of the curves obtained from 13 of 21 animals subjected to ligation and division of the common bile duct. Eight animals revealed extensive biliary or other infection at autopsy; the data that these furnished were derived from the control curves. Electrocardiograms were made at 3 to 4 day intervals before and after the induction of jaundice, the animal lying quietly on its right side.
The essential change noted in the electrocardiogram following ligation and division of the common bile duct was an accentuation of the breathing arrythmia, normally present in a dog. This was seen in the curves of 9 of the 13 animals (Figs. 1B and 2B). A slight increase in the heart rate usually occurred during the inspiratory phase; at the end of expiration there was a prolongation, relative or absolute, of the R-R interval. The two phases of respiration therefore became more sharply demarcated from one another. As a result the heart tended to be slightly more rapid than before the induction of jaundice, thus confirming the findings obtained by ausculation.
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