Cardiovascular function in young lambs during summit metabolism

1. Cardiac output in lambs less than 3 days old was 50-100% higher during summit metabolism than during exposure to thermoneutral conditions.2. The Fick method, based on oxygen consumption, and the dye dilution method for determination of cardiac output, gave qualitatively similar results, but there were considerable quantitative discrepancies.3. The thermogenic tissues, muscle and brown fat, extracted some 80% of the oxygen from the blood perfusing them during summit metabolism.4. Significant right to left shunts through the foramen ovale were detected in about half of the lambs during the first few days of life; the size and incidence of shunts decreased with advancing age but were apparently independent of environmental conditions.5. During exposure to extreme cold, left to right shunts through the ductus arteriosus were detected in a high proportion of lambs, < 12 hr old, with detectable foramen ovale shunts. Pressure measurements in pulmonary and systemic arteries in very young lambs indicated that right to left shunting via the ductus was unlikely to occur; none was detected.6. Summit metabolism was poorly related to oxygen carrying capacity of blood, but significant correlations of summit metabolism with cardiac output (positive) and with oxygen saturation of mixed venous blood (negative) were observed, though not consistently.7. It is concluded that the great variability of summit metabolism between lambs older than 6 hr is not readily explained in terms of cardiovascular phenomena, but that the quantity and efficiency of thermogenic tissues probably play an important role in limiting summit metabolism.