Cerebrovascular anatomy and blood flow measurements in the rabbit.

The arterial supply and venous drainage of the rabbit's brain were characterized by intravascular injection of casting material and intra-arterial administration of markers (crystal violet or dissolved hydrogen gas). The internal carotid artery supplies the homolateral cerebral cortex and subcortical structures except for the thalamus and the posterior portion of the nucleus caudatus; it also supplies the homolateral retina and optic nerve. No noncerebral structures are supplied by this artery. The dorsal sagittal sinus drains the dorsal and lateral parts of the frontal and parietal areas of the cerebral cortex, with no detectable extracerebral contamination. Electromagnetic measurement of flow in the internal carotid artery (ICBF), volumetric or H2-clearance measurement of flow in the dorsal sagittal sinus (SSBF), and H2-clearance determination in cerebral cortex yield comparable results on the cerebrovascular response to hyper- and hypocapnia. ICBF and SSBF are reliable and valid estimates of average blood flow through the homolateral cerebral hemisphere and the cerebral cortex, respectively.