AJP - Heart and Circulatory Physiology, Vol 259, Issue 6 1649-H1654, Copyright © 1990 by American Physiological Society
Regional blood flow in transected rat spinal cord during hypothermia
T. Sakamoto, A. Iwai and W. W. Monafo
Department of Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110.
Regional blood flow (RBF) increases in the spinal cord and sciatic nerve of
acutely hypothermic rats. To determine whether cord transection affects
this response, we measured RBF in rat spinal cord and sciatic nerve 2 h
after cord transection at vertebrae T8 (n = 18 rats) and T11 (n = 18 rats)
using [14C]butanol distribution. Nine in each group were normothermic
controls. In T11 transection-hypothermia (25-27 degrees C rectal
temperature), RBF increased in the three rostral cord segments by 28-40% (P
less than 0.05); caudally, cord RBF was depressed in two segments (P less
than 0.05), unchanged in the other; RBF fell in nerve (P less than 0.05).
In T8 transection-hypothermia, RBF was unchanged in the two rostral cord
segments; caudally, RBF was depressed in one cord segment (P less than
0.05) and unchanged in the others; RBF was unchanged in nerve. We conclude
that RBF does not rise in caudal spinal cord segments or in sciatic nerve
during hypothermia in rats with prior spinal cord transection.
