Peripheral hemodynamic stability during prolonged anesthesia in the rat

The present study tests the hypothesis that peripheral hemodynamics in the rat femoral artery remain relatively stable during 3 hours of general anesthesia. Hemodynamic variables (pulse period, maximal centerline velocity, lumen diameter, and mean volumetric flow) were measured by the 20 MHz-pulsed ultrasonic Doppler velocimeter method at 30-minute intervals. The hemodynamic variables were not statistically different during the duration of the study. The mean values were pulse period 160 +/- 2 msec, maximal centerline velocity 37.0 +/- 1.9 cm/sec, lumen diameter 0.94 +/- 0.03 mm, and mean volumetric flow 1.92 +/- 0.19 cc/min.