Blood flow distribution in dog gastrocnemius muscle at rest and during stimulation

The distribution of blood flow within the isolated perfused dog gastrocnemius muscle (weight 100-240 g) was studied by intra-arterial injection of radioactively labeled microspheres (diameter 15 micron) at rest and during supramaximal stimulation to rhythmic isotonic tetanic contractions of varied frequency against varied loads. After the experiment the muscle was cut into 180-250 pieces of approximately 0.75 g each, and the blood flow to each muscle piece was determined from its radioactivity. The inhomogeneity of blood flow was represented as the frequency distribution of the ratios of regional specific blood flow, i.e., blood flow per unit tissue weight of the piece, QR, to the overall specific blood flow of the muscle, Q. The QR/Q values for the individual pieces of a muscle were found to vary widely both at rest and during stimulation. With rising work load the frequency distribution had a tendency to broaden and flatten, indicating increasing perfusion inhomogeneity. On the average of the experiments, there was no significant difference in specific blood flow between the three anatomic components of the gastrocnemius (lateral and medial heads of gastrocnemius and flexor digitorum superficialis) nor between the superficial and deep portions within these anatomic components, only the distal third of the muscle was relatively less perfused compared with the proximal two-thirds. The considerable inhomogeneity of blood flow as revealed by microsphere embolization and by other methods is expected to exert important limiting effects on local O2 supply, particularly during exercise. Its neglect would lead to serious errors in the analysis of O2 supply to muscle tissue.