Vasodilation in skeletal muscle during activation of patellar reflex

¹ Department of Physiology, University of California School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California

The muscular hyperemia accompanying the patellar reflex was studied in decerebrate cats with and without sympathetic block, and compared with the vascular response resulting from equivalent muscle activation through stimulation of the intact or centrally blocked motor nerve. No obvious differences were seen in the vascular responses under these conditions, except possibly in the latency and pattern of onset of the response. It is concluded that, with the possible exception of the latter feature, the vasodilation accompanying the patellar reflex is independent of the central nervous system.