Left ventricular cannulation for microsphere estimation of rabbit renal blood flow

When cannulation of the left ventricle and the left atrium were compared as methods for measuring for measuring renal blood flow distribution with radioactive microspheres in 9 conscious and 6 anesthetized rabbits, there were no differences between the two injection routes. Left ventricular cannulation per se did not affect cardiac output, nor the percentage of the cardiac output supplying the kidneys; but cardiac outputs estimated by thermodilution by injections via this route were up to 10% greater than those from left atrial injection. The advantages of left ventricular cannulation for experiments on regional blood flow distribution in conscious animals are discussed.