Hydrostatic pressures within the vascular structures of the rat kidney.

The pressure conditions at the distal end of the interlobular arteries and in the interlobular veins were investigated from the pressures obtained in superficial small arteries and veins, accidentally found on the kidney surface, during the subsequent blockade of the blood stream in the down-stream and up-stream direction, respectively. The results suggested a hydrostatic pressure in the distal end of the interlobular arteries of about 85 mm Hg under normotensive conditions-a pressure which remained fairly constant when the perfusion pressure in the renal artery was decreased within the autoregulation range. The results indicate a considerable pressure drop of about 40 mm Hg along the interlobular arteries. During hypotension this pressure drop decreased, implying a decreased resistance in the interlobular arteries, i.e. a typical autoregulative response. The pressure in the interlobular veins amounted to about 5 mm Hg, which is a few mm Hg higher than that in the renal vein and about 7 mm lower than that in the peritubular capillary network. The results suggest a flow resistance located somewhere between the peritubular capillaries and the intrarenal veins. This resistance is not influenced by vasoactive substances but it is decreased when the systemic venous pressure is raised above 10 mm Hg. The resistance seems to act in the direction of protecting the peritubular capillaries from minor changes in the central venous pressure.