Microvascular control of capillary pressure during increases in local arterial and venous pressure

The extent to which capillary hydrostatic pressure might be protected from increases in local arterial and venous pressure was examined in the wing microcirculation of unanesthetized pallid bats (Antrozous pallidus). Arterial inflow and venous outflow pressures to the wing were elevated using a box technique to increase pressure around the body of the animal in steps of 12 mmHg between 0 and +60 mmHg for 3-min periods. During this time, hydrostatic pressure, diameter, and red cell velocity in single microvessels were continuously recorded. All branching orders of arterioles constricted significantly during increases in box pressure (Pb), while capillaries and venules dilated. First-order arteriole and venule pressures increased 1:1 with Pb. Capillary pressures increased by only a fraction of Pb up to +36 mmHg, but at higher Pb, the change in capillary pressure was equivalent to the change in Pb. Calculations of vascular resistance indicate that changes in both pre- and postcapillary resistance in this tissue act to prevent increases in capillary pressure during moderate, but not during large, increases in arterial and venous pressure.