Selective parasympathectomy of automatic and conductile tissues of the canine heart.

From right thoracotomy (T4-T5), the canine heart was suspended in its pericardium to expose its major venous inputs. Vagal and sympathetic trunks were prepared for electrical stimulation (10-20 Hz, 5.0 ms, 3-5 V) before and after each separate denervation procedure. Vagal stimulation was instituted with and without concurrent atrial pacing. The following surgical interventions were performed. 1) The superior vena cava was cleared of connective and nervous tissues from the pericardial reflection caudally to the level of the right pulmonary artery. 2) The azygos vein was cleared, tied, and sectioned. 3) The right pulmonary veins were isolated and cleared intrapericardially. 4) The dorsal surface of the atria was dissected between the right and left pulmonary veins and painted with phenol. Each step in the procedure elicited successive stepwise deletion of parasympathetic influences on sinoatrial tissues of the canine heart with only minor ablation of sympathetic inputs. 5) Dissection of the triangular fat pad at the junction of the inferior vena cava and inferior left atrium eliminated the remaining parasympathetic efferent input to the heart with dramatic deletion of atrioventricular block during either left or right vagal stimulation, again with preservation of most of the sympathetic innervation. These experiments clearly demonstrate differential and selective inputs of parasympathetic pathways to sinoatrial (SAN) and atrioventricular (AVN) regions of the dog heart but relatively little interference with sympathetic distributions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)