Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Parenteral Anesthetics: Overview

Parenteral Anesthetics: Overview

Intravenous anesthetics are drugs administered parenterally to induce anesthesia or sedation. Propofol is a widely used agent formulated as a 1% emulsion in soybean oil, glycerol, and egg phosphatide. It induces rapid anesthesia primarily due to its rapid distribution from the bloodstream to target tissues and is metabolized in the liver. However, it can cause significant pain on injection and hypertriglyceridemia. Fospropofol, a water-based prodrug of propofol, lacks these adverse effects.

Factors Affecting Drug Distribution: Organ Perfusion Rate

Factors Affecting Drug Distribution: Organ Perfusion Rate

Drug distribution within the body is a complex process influenced by several factors, including perfusion rate, the rate at which the bloodstream transports drugs to tissue. This limitation becomes particularly significant when dealing with highly lipophilic drugs. In such cases, the rate at which the drug can move across membranes is crucial, and if the membrane is highly permeable to the drug, distribution becomes rate-limited by perfusion.
Perfusion rate-limited distribution relies on the...

Oxygen Transport in the Blood

Oxygen Transport in the Blood

Hemoglobin (Hb) is a crucial molecule in the human body, consisting of four polypeptide chains, each bound to an iron-containing heme group. This unique structure enables hemoglobin to bind to oxygen, with each molecule capable of combining with four molecules of oxygen, leading to rapid and reversible oxygen loading. When fully loaded with oxygen, it is called oxyhemoglobin, while hemoglobin that has released oxygen is called reduced hemoglobin or deoxyhemoglobin. As hemoglobin binds oxygen,...

Autoregulation of Blood Flow

Autoregulation of Blood Flow

Autoregulation mechanisms are characterized by their inherent capacity for self-regulation without necessitating specific nervous stimulation or endocrine control. These mechanisms facilitate the adjustment of blood flow and, therefore, perfusion specific to each tissue region. This self-regulation encompasses chemical signals and myogenic controls.
Chemical Signaling in Autoregulation
Chemical signaling operates at the precapillary sphincter level, inciting either contraction or relaxation.

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

The future of intensive care: the study of the microcirculation will help to guide our therapies.

Critical care (London, England)·2023

Same author

[Febrile dyspnea in a 20 year-old woman].

La Revue de medecine interne·2023

Same author

The use of virtual reality in children undergoing vascular access procedures: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Journal of clinical monitoring and computing·2021

Same author

Systematic review and literature appraisal on methodology of conducting and reporting critical-care echocardiography studies: a report from the European Society of Intensive Care Medicine PRICES expert panel.

Annals of intensive care·2020

Same author

[Hybrid operating theater].

Der Anaesthesist·2018

Same author

Norepinephrine improves cardiac function during septic shock, but why?

British journal of anaesthesia·2018

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 3, 2026

Recording Brain Electromagnetic Activity During the Administration of the Gaseous Anesthetic Agents Xenon and Nitrous Oxide in Healthy Volunteers

Recording Brain Electromagnetic Activity During the Administration of the Gaseous Anesthetic Agents Xenon and Nitrous Oxide in Healthy Volunteers

Published on: January 13, 2018

Effects of propofol on human microcirculation.

M Koch¹, D De Backer, J L Vincent

¹Department of Anaesthesiology, Erasme University Hospital, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Route de Lennik 808, B-1070 Brussels, Belgium.

British Journal of Anaesthesia

|July 26, 2008

Summary

Propofol anesthesia in healthy individuals was found to reduce capillary blood flow, despite stable systemic hemodynamics. These microcirculatory alterations resolved after propofol infusion ceased.

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 3, 2026

Recording Brain Electromagnetic Activity During the Administration of the Gaseous Anesthetic Agents Xenon and Nitrous Oxide in Healthy Volunteers

Recording Brain Electromagnetic Activity During the Administration of the Gaseous Anesthetic Agents Xenon and Nitrous Oxide in Healthy Volunteers

Published on: January 13, 2018

Area of Science:

Anesthesiology
Critical Care Medicine
Microcirculation Research

Background:

Microvascular alterations are implicated in organ dysfunction in critically ill patients.
Propofol is known to decrease vascular tone and induce hypotension.
The microcirculatory effects of propofol in healthy humans remain largely unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the effects of propofol on the sublingual microcirculation in healthy humans.

Main Methods:

A prospective, open-label trial involving 15 patients undergoing anesthesia with propofol for transvaginal oocyte retrieval.
Sublingual microcirculation was assessed using orthogonal polarization spectral imaging before, during, and after propofol infusion.

Main Results:

Propofol administration led to a 9.1% decrease in total microvascular density (P<0.05).
The density of perfused capillaries significantly reduced by 16.7% (P<0.05), while venular density remained unchanged.
Systemic hemodynamic and oxygenation variables showed no significant changes during propofol infusion.

Conclusions:

Propofol infusion during anesthesia in humans reduces capillary blood flow.
Microcirculatory alterations observed during propofol administration were reversible, resolving within 3 hours post-infusion.