Factors influencing control of arterial circulation in the liver of the dog

¹ Department of Surgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California, and Dunn Laboratories, and Professorial Unit, St. Bartholomew's Hospital, London, England

Measurements were made of the hepatic arterial flow in thirty-one mongrel dogs by the use of the electromagnetic square wave flowmeter under the following experimental conditions: hepatic arterial neurectomy, portal venous flow reductions, portal venous flow elimination and diversion, and systemic acidosis and alkalosis. The findings suggest that the periarterial nerves about the hepatic artery influence the intrinsic regulation of hepatic artery blood flow only in the presence of severely reduced portal venous flow.

Key Words: alkalosis • acidosis • electromagnetic flowmeter • neurectomy

Submitted on March 6, 1963