[Microkymography--a method to measure the flow velocity in the microvascular bed after endotoxin administration (author's transl)].

In this paper the application of intravital microkymography on studies of the microcirculation of the hamster cheek pouch is presented. Flow velocity reduction which is one of the characteristic initial alterations in small blood vessels after injection of endotoxin is recorded in a direct way by the strip microkymography. The method of the recording system is described and some examples of the effects of endotoxin as well as of serotonin, one of the mediators of endotoxin, are given. The advantage of microkymography in quantitative and functional studies of endotoxic actions, e.g. flow velocity decreases and vessel diameter changes, is discussed.