Measurement of local skeletal muscle blood flow in normal humans by hydrogen clearance.

The hydrogen (H2) electrode technique was adapted to the measurement of local skeletal muscle blood flow (LSMBF) in humans. Thirty-five normal volunteers were utilized to study the biceps, deltoid, gastrocnemius, and quadriceps muscles at rest and following exercise. Results indicated statistically significant increases (P < 0.05) in postexercise compared with resting blood flows within the muscles. The highest mean value for LSMBF was found in deltoid muscle and the lowest in biceps. This study demonstrates the potential superiority of the H2 electrode technique over previous techniques for measuring absolute muscle blood flow at individual sites. It is suggested that measurements by means of the H2 electrode technique represent the most definitive values for skeletal muscle blood flow at this time, and its application could be especially important in various neuromuscular disorders in which some question remains concerning the role of abnormalities of the skeletal muscle vasculature.