Blood and cerebrospinal fluid glucose in the fasting state

¹ Department of Anatomy and Physiology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky

A glucose oxidase method for determining glucose was used in analyzing the blood and cerebrospinal fluid in dogs. The animals were fasted from 66 to 84 hours and venous blood and cerebrospinal fluid samples were withdrawn simultaneously during this time. In 13 determinations the glucose concentration in the fluid from the cisterna magna was equal to or slightly higher than the glucose concentration in blood from the cephalic vein. In seven instances the venous glucose concentration was higher. There was a tendency, not always uniform, for the glucose level to drop slightly in both compartments as the days of fasting progressed. Greater fluctuation was observed in the venous glucose level than in the cerebrospinal fluid glucose level.