[Capacitive vascular reactions of the skeletal musculature before and after adrenoreceptor blockade]

In acute experiments on cats under autoperfusion of the denervated shank vessels with a constant blood volume, injection of noradrenaline into the perfusate could either decrease or increase vascular capacitance. The character and magnitude of reaction depended on the initial level of venous pressure: in pressure 10--15 Hg the decrease was predominant, whereas in pressure 0 and 25 mm Hg--the increase of vascular capacitance occurred. Under blockade of beta-adrenoreceptors with propranolol the dependence of the character of changes in shank vessels capacitance remained the same. Under dihydroergotoxin blockade of alpha-adrenoreceptors, noradrenaline produced only an insignificant increase of the vascular capacitance.