Buffer function of the nerves arising at the thyrocarotid arterial junction in the dog

¹ Section of Clinical Endocrinology, National Heart Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland

The carotid arteries were constricted in normal dogs, while arterial, atrial and venous pressures were recorded. Carotid constriction above the thyroid arteries but below the carotid sinuses produced less reflex rise in peripheral arterial pressure than constriction below the thyroid arteries, despite equal falls in intracarotid pressure. The difference was abolished by bilateral denervation of the thyrocarotid arterial junctions, but not by vagotomy. Mild, persistent hypertension followed chronic thyrocarotid arterial junction denervation. Carotid constriction also produced reflex increase in right atrial pulse pressure; this was abolished by denervation of both carotid sinuses and thyrocarotid arterial junctions. The data suggest that the thyrocarotid arterial junction is an important buffer area in the dog.

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