Exocrine ductal pCO2 in the rabbit pancreas

An improved pCO2 microelectrode has been evaluated and used to investigate whether a significant barrier to diffusion of CO2 exists in the rabbit pancreas. The results of this study show the improved Carter and Caflisch pCO2 microelectrode to be an accurate and reliable tool for measuring pancreatic venous and ductal pCO2. The similarities between pCO2 values from the pancreatic ducts and small pancreatic veins suggest that there is no barrier to CO2 diffusion between small veins and exocrine ducts in the rabbit pancreas, and that ductal pCO2 is probably strongly influenced by the CO2 tension of the small pancreatic blood vessels.