Cerebral distribution of contrast medium and paradoxical location of lesions of the blood-brain barrier in the rabbit.

Lesions to the blood-brain barrier have been investigated in rabbits following constant or intermittent injections of sodium metrizoate into the internal carotid artery at different injection rates. Under certain experimental conditions the lesion to the blood-brain barrier was predominantly located to the brain area supplied by the contralateral carotid artery or the vertebral arteries. It is shown by serial angiography that the application time was shorter within the vascular territory of the paradoxical lesion. The results may imply that a mixture of blood and contrast medium is more vulnerable to the blood-brain barrier than contrast medium alone.