Microspheres in cardiac lymph: control and ischemic states.

The cardiac lymph from conscious animals was monitored for the presence or absence of radiolabelled 15 micrometer microspheres during: 1) control periods after left atrial injection of microspheres and b) after circumflex coronary artery (CFX) occlusions (10--20 min total or less than 40 mins 50% of control flow) followed by full reperfusions. Microspheres (15 mu) numbering 7--150 were present in the lymph within 2 hrs after the occlusions; and in three experiments, the presence of a small number in the lymph on the following day implied continual release overnight. No microspheres were present in 8--48 hr lymph samples prior to occlusions. This study suggests that some microspheres escape from the intravascular space of the myocardium and are channeled into the cardiac lymphatics; this is apparent even after short-term ischemic events.