The effect of acidaemia on the response to stimulation of the autonomic nerves to the heart.

1. The effects are described of an acidaemia produced either by an inhalation of carbon dioxide or by an infusion of hydrochloric acid on the response of the heart to stimulation of the ansae subclaviae and right vagus nerve in anaesthetized dogs.2. The results show that during an acidaemia (pH 6.95) of up to 2 hr duration the response to stimulation of the right vagus nerve was enhanced and that the inotropic response to stimulation of sympathetic nerves was not changed; the chronotropic response was depressed during acidaemia only at the low end of the range of responses, from 0 to 40 beats/min. The importance of preventing acidaemia when investigating reflex heart rate responses is discussed.3. It is suggested that in the intact animal with an innervated heart the response of the heart to stimulation of the sympathetic nerves is unaltered in acidaemia and that the reported effects of changed cardiovascular response during acidaemia may in part be explained by the enhanced response to vagal stimulation and an altered response of the peripheral vessels.