Inspiration-induced vascular responses in finger dorsum skin

A rapid and deep inspiration triggers a sympathetically mediated transient vasoconstriction of skin arterioles (inspiratory gasp vascular response, IGVR). Because the IGVR has been most often measured and studied in skin that is rich in arteriovenous anastomoses (AVAs), such as the palmar aspect of the distal phalanx or plantar aspect of the toes, there is little information on its features in skin areas not dominated by thermoregulatory AVAs. Thus, the dependence of the magnitude of the IGVR on AVAs is unclear. We reasoned that if responses in a region of low AVA density, such as the finger dorsum distal phalanx, were comparable to those in AVA-rich skin, this would clarify the issue. Further, it might then be possible to use such areas to provide a useful complementary target for future study of sympathetically induced vasoconstriction. To test this, we determined the features of the finger dorsum IGVR in 28 healthy volunteers (age 19-57 years, 14 males) in whom distal phalanx skin blood perfusion (SBF) was monitored by laser-Doppler during 21 sequential IGVRs, each separated by 2 min. IGVR was quantified as the minimum SBF during each IGVR, expressed as a percentage of each immediately preceding 2-min SBF average. Results (mean +/- SD) revealed an overall IGVR of 72.2 +/- 16.7%, which is very near that reported from studies on the AVA-rich palmar finger pad. We therefore conclude that the IGVR does not depend on the presence of AVAs and that the dorsal distal phalanx is a viable alternative for the study of sympathetically related neurovascular responses.