Changes in Renal Function During Induced Apnea of Diffusion Respiration

¹ From the Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, College of Medical Evangelists, Loma Linda, California

If apnea is induced in dogs by overdoses of thiopental sodium, urine production will be greatly diminished or totally cease, despite good hydration, normotensive arterial pressures and adequate oxygenation of the animals by means of diffusion respiration. This oliguria or anuria can be largely reversed by infusion of osmotic diuretics, although mercurial-xanthene diuretics and Diamox diuretics do not alter the course of the developing anuria. Likewise, unilateral surgical stripping of the renal pedicle, unilateral splanchnicectomy, or spinal hemisection cause the kidneys on the side of the lesions to continue to produce urine after the contralateral intact kidneys become anuric. The clearances of PAH and creatinine are depressed in both intact and surgically denervated kidneys during the apnea. However, the depression is very much less in the denervated kidneys. A diminution in PAH extraction ratios, which appear to correlate with a drop in blood pH, was also observed.