The isolated, perfused bovine ear. A model for pharmacological study of cutaneous vasculature and anaphylaxis.

Bovine ears were catheterized and perfused with Krebs-Henseleit (K-H) solution at a constant flow rate. The perfusion pressure (PP) was monitored using a pressure transducer coupled to a carrier preamplifier, amplifier and a pen recorder. Dose-response curves to phenylephrine, histamine and 5-hydroxytryptamine were obtained. The ear preparations responded to these agonists dose-dependently by increases in perfusion pressure. Ear preparations from sensitized calves were challenged with 0.05 ml of horse serum which caused increased perfusion pressure. These preliminary results suggest that the perfused bovine ear represents a promising, simple, inexpensive model for the study of pharmacological mechanisms of the skin.