Forelimb blood flow distribution during hypothalamic dilator response.

An attempt is made to determine whether hypothalamically induced forelimb vascular dilation in the dog affects primarily exchange beds or shunt circuits. Slug injections of [131I] albumin and 86RbCl were used to measure the active vascular volume of the forelimbs and permeability surface area product (PS), respectively. Changes in total vascular volume (TVV), filtration, and capillary filtration coefficient (CFD) were measured by plethysmography. During stimulation, forelimb blood flow increased 25% and TVV increased an average 1.5 ml. There was no plethysmographic evidence of outward capillary filtration. Active vascular volume decreased 11%. PS decreased 11%, and CFC decreased 20%. These results point to a redistribution of blood flow from exchange circuits to faster flow channels. During constant-inflow perfusion, there was evidence from CFC and PS measurements that the capillary surface area was increased while active vascular volume decreased. The results observed with hypothalamic stimulation are different from those obtained with pharmacologic dilators and denervation. It is suggested that the former method has a more selective effect in lowering resistance in the faster shuntlike vessels.