Sympathetic vasoconstrictor tone induced by pentobarbital anesthesia in hindquarters of rats

Hindquarter (terminal aortic) blood flow (HQF) and arterial pressure (AP) were observed in rats with an electromagnetic flow probe implanted around the terminal aorta and an arterial indwelling cannula. Hindquarter peripheral resistance (HQR) was calculated by dividing mean AP by HQF. Under pentobarbital anesthesia, HQR was decreased significantly (p less than 0.001) by ganglionic blockade with hexamethonium bromide (C6). Since C6 does not change HQR significantly without anesthesia, we interpret that pentobarbital anesthesia generated a sympathetic vasoconstrictor tone in hindquarter resistance vessels. This was further substantiated by the observation that the increase in HQR on infusion of vasopressin was obscure under pentobarbital anesthesia: Presumably, the increase was offset by reflex inhibition of the hindquarter tone induced by anesthesia. The generation of hindquarter vasoconstrictor tone by pentobarbital was for the most part ascribable to the baroreceptor reflex to compensate for the depressor effect of this anesthetic, because it was greatly diminished after severance of the buffer nerves.