Method for cisterna magna perfusion of synthetic cerebrospinal fluid in the awake goat.

We developed a method to produce stable alterations in the ionic composition of the medullary chemoreceptor environment. A double-lumen catheter system (Hustead epidural needle and epidural catheter) was placed through a plastic cisternal guide tube into the cisterna magna of awake goats. A push-pull perfusion system using a modified infusion pump delivered matched cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) perfusate inflow and outflow of 3.1 ml/min. Ventilation changed within 15 min of the initiation of perfusion and reached steady state within 45-65 min. Steady-state ventilatory responses could be maintained for up to 240 min and were readily reversed in response to a change in [HCO-3]. Perfusions with normal mock CSF ( [HCO-3] = 23 meq/l) caused no change from nonperfused values. Over the range of CSF perfusate [HCO-3] used (13.5-34.4 meq/l), the gain of the steady-state ventilatory response averaged 0.6 Torr X meq-1 X l. [3H]inulin and [HCO-3] were equal in inflow and outflow by 20-30 min of perfusion indicating complete mixing of bulk CSF in the cistern. Anatomic study after methylene blue dye perfusion showed dye distribution to subarachnoid spaces of midbrain, cervical cord, cerebellum, medulla, and most of the cortex but not to any ventricles. This perfusion technique produces prolonged, stable, reproducible, and repeatable changes in the medullary chemoreceptor ionic environment of awake goats, is relatively atraumatic, and permits high flow through the cisternal subarachnoid space.