Acute and chronic servo-control of renal perfusion pressure

We describe a servo-control system for acute and chronic regulation of renal perfusion pressure or pressures in other parts of the circulation. The system employs a Dacron-reinforced inflatable silastic occluder of sufficient strength and durability to produce large pressure gradients for long periods of time (at least 10 days) in the abdominal aortas of large dogs. The occluder is inflated with an inexpensive, bidirectional DC motor syringe pump that is controlled by a comparator feedback circuit connected to the output of a driver amplifier of a Grass polygraph or any other suitable recorder. The system has a rapid response time for precise control and has been used to maintain a constant renal perfusion pressure in experiments lasting as long as 10 days. The system has diverse applications in studies of acute or chronic regulation of renal hemodynamics as well as the hemodynamics of other organ systems. The main advantages of this system, besides its durability and precision of control, are that it is very inexpensive (total cost including the syringe pump is less than $150), easy to construct, and can be used in chronic studies for servo-controlling renal perfusion pressure or pressures in other parts of the circulation.