Non-homogeneous blood flow distribution in the rabbit tenuissimus muscle. Differential control of total blood flow and capillary perfusion.

Structural and functional relationships underlying the blood flow distribution in the rabbit tenuissimus muscle were examined by means of intravital microscopy. A majority of the main feeding arterioles (transverse arterioles) continued into adjacent connective tissue, after giving off branches (terminal arterioles) within the muscle tissue to supply the muscle capillaries. The transverse arterioles thus supplied two vascular areas, although the major part of the arteriolar flow, under normal resting conditions, was distributed to the muscle capillaries--a flow fraction over which the terminal arterioles exerted ultimate control. The fractional distribution of the blood flow between muscle and connective tissue was determined by the relative contributions of the transverse and terminal arterioles to the vascular resistance. These arteriolar segments showed a differential response to an increase in oxygen availability (elevated ambient pO2), resulting in a total reduction of muscle capillary flow, but no concomitant change in the flow to connective tissue. A decrease in perfusion pressure, on the other hand, led to similar flow changes in the muscle and connective tissue circulation, which was attributed to proportionate resistance changes in the transverse and terminal arterioles. Differences between the larger transverse and smaller terminal arterioles in their sensitivity to various stimuli may form a functional basis for a differential control of arteriolar blood supply and capillary perfusion in this muscle.