Influence of blood volume restoration and tissue trauma on corticosteroid secretion in dogs

¹ Department of Surgery, Harvard Medical School, Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts

In this third paper the authors record the corticosteroid data derived from the animals reported in the previous studies. A total of 12 animals is described. Acute reduction in blood volume in dogs resulted in markedly increased concentrations of corticosteroids in the adrenal vein blood. In some instances, alteration in flow was so balanced that there was no increase in total secretion of corticosteroids; in others, the adrenal blood flow was such that the output total was increased. In dogs subjected to a more chronic shock challenge by prolonged bleeding, the concentration and output of corticosteroids varied considerably according to adrenal blood flow and the presence or absence of the ‘taking-up’ phenomena. Replacement of lost blood was accompanied by a reduction in concentration and, in some cases, total output of corticosteroids. Fracture of the femur in anesthetized dogs resulted in increased concentration of corticosteroids in the adrenal venous blood, seemingly unrelated to blood pressure changes. There was no sign of adrenocortical failure in any of these animals and in one case a low output of corticosteroids in response to hemorrhage did not appear to influence the resistance of the animal to hemorrhagic hypotension.