[Morphological findings in tourniquet-shock (author's transl)]

Studies on 15 adult rabbits revealed that after removing a 3 hours lasting tourniquet of the left hind limb, the average survival time is 3,6 hours, whereas after a tourniquet lasting 4 hours animals die on the average within 22,8 hours in tourniquet shock. The maximum of interstitial edema and myolysis - estimated by light microscopy - was reached in the ischemic muscles of the hind leg after a 3-6 hours period of recirculation. Extraordinary strong muscle lesions regulary were found in the adductor. In all animals shock lungs could be demonstrated in which hyaline membranes were absent however. 54% of all animals partly showed extensive necroses of liver epithelial cells. Necrosis of cardiac muscle fibres were found in one animal only. In the kidneys merely slight degenerative lesions were identified in the thick descending and ascending limb of Henle's loops, kidneys of longer surviving animals contained many casts.