Cardiovascular responses to denervation of pulmocutaneous baroreceptors in toads

Toad pulmocutaneous arterial baroreceptors are connected to afferent fibers carried in the recurrent laryngeal nerves (rLNs). Bilateral rLN denervation in conscious toads (Bufo marinus) caused 34 and 78% increases in heart rate (Fh) and systemic arterial blood pressure (Pa) within 10-15 min, respectively. The variance of Pa was significantly increased 2 days after denervation, but Pa and Fh were not. In additional chronic experiments, 5 of 17 baroreceptor-denervated toads died within the 2-wk recovery period. No deaths occurred in sham-operated toads. The mean Pa, Fh, and cardiac interval (Ic), the mean variance of Pa, Fh, and Ic, and Pa and Fh responses to stress, plasma composition, and the dry-to-wet weight ratio of skeletal muscle and lung were not statistically different in denervated and sham-operated toads. However, the sensitivity of Ic to changes in Pa, exposed by intra-arterial injections of phenylephrine and nitroprusside, was attenuated in denervated toads. Postmortem examination revealed occasional pulmonary lesions, the incidence of which appeared correlated with causes of pulmonary hypertension: baroreceptor denervation and phenylephrine injections. We conclude that pulmocutaneous arterial baroreflex is tonically active but is not essential for the long-term maintenance of Pa in conscious undisturbed toads.