Effects of serotonin on pulmonary blood volume in the dog

¹ Department of Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland

Changes in pulmonary blood volume produced by continuous intravenous infusion of serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine) were measured in 16 experiments on ten dogs. Pulmonary mean transit time was measured by the dye dilution method, using consecutive injections into pulmonary artery and left atrium; pulmonary blood volume was calculated by multiplying this mean transit time by the cardiac output. Serotonin lowered pulmonary blood volume by an average of 2.9 ml/kg, or 26% of the control value (P <0.001). Pulmonary vascular resistance increased 94 ru (resistance units) kg, and systemic vascular resistance fell 294 ru kg, effects similar to those reported by other investigators. The magnitude of the decrease in pulmonary blood volume indicates that a relatively large part of the pulmonary vascular bed is constricted by serotonin, and provides an example of shifting of blood from pulmonic to systemic circuits by reciprocal changes in the distensibility of these beds.