Arterial and muscle oxygen tension in experimental models of asthma. Experimental models of asthma.

The immediate-type airway response in anesthetized dogs and rhesus monkeys to two antigens (ascaris and keyhole limpet hemocyanin) and pharmacologic agents (histamine, methacholine and prostaglandin F2alpha) were studied. The pulmonary function abnormalities demonstrated by changes in breathing frequency, peak expiratory flow rate, pulmonary resistance, expiratory-inspiratory time ratio, tidal volume, and dynamic compliance were compared with simultaneous determinations of arterial pO2, muscle pO2 or both, using indwelling electrodes. The results demonstrate that the O2 determinations provide an additional parameter of study of these experimental models of asthma, and that it may be one of the more sensitive indicators of an induced airway response of the immediate-type. The hypoxia parallels the degree of severity of the respiratory response and demonstrates a further similarity of this model to human asthma.