The effect of anaesthetics on blood perfusion in transplanted mouse tumours

Rubidium-86, 125I-human serum albumin and 51Cr-labelled red cells have been used to investigate the effects of the anaesthetics Nembutal (pentobarbitone sodium) and urethane on blood perfusion, blood volume and albumin leakage in 5 types of transplanted mouse tumour and in normal organs. Nembutal was found to increase the relative blood perfusion by a factor of 1-3 to 2-0 in tumours and by a factor of 1-7 to 3-0 in kidneys but muscle perfusion fell to 0-3-0-5 that of controls. The effects of urethane were found to be dose dependent, generally in the same direction as for Nembutal, and smaller. Both anaesthetics reduced the blood volume of tumours (except for the C3H mammary carcinoma) and of kidneys by factors of 0-2 to 0-8. The duration of anaesthesia had no effect on the plateau values of relative blood perfusion and blood volume in either tumours or normal organs, but Nembutal delayed slightly the 86Rb uptake and decreased the rate of albumin leakage.