Electrical and mechanical activity of the isolated canine stomach perfused with homologous, in vitro, oxygenated blood.

Electrical and mechanical activity was recorded from six totally isolated canine stomachs perfused with homologous blood oxygenated in vitro. Reactions to electrical vagal stimulation to cholinergic drugs and to pentagastrin were recorded. Electrical control activity, electrical response activity and mechanical response of isolated stomachs, observed in this in vitro system, were identical to those found in canine-isolated stomachs perfused with cross-circulated blood of living animals. It appears that when a living animal is included in the perfusion system of the isolated stomach, drugs used for gastric stimulation are rapidly metabolized and, due to this physiological clearance, repeated injections of stimulants can be given for several hours. Using the in vitro perfusion system, as in this experiment, injected drugs accumulate in the perfusion blood, as no clearance mechanism is available. Partial or total exchange of perfusion blood is therefore recommended. With these reservations, the in vitro system appears to be an easy method for the study of nonstimulated and stimulated electrical and mechanical activity of the totally isolated canine stomach.