title: Methodological aspects of testicular blood flow measurements in rats.
abstract: 3 techniques for the measurement of testicular blood flow in anesthetized adult rats were compared. Direct measurement of testicular venous outflow yielded values more than 3 times lower than those obtained Xe-133 clearance and radioactive microsphere techniques due to the surgical procedures involved in spermatic venous cannulation. There was an agreement between flow values obtained with Xe-133 clearance (17.8 +/- 3.5 ml/100 g X min) and radioactive microspheres (19.9 +/- 5.5 ml/100 g X min). A homogeneous distribution of microspheres to different segments of the testis indicates that Xe-133 clearance is an adequate technique for testicular blood flow measurements. However, for some experimental purposes the radioactive microsphere technique is more versatile than Xe-133 clearance because of its capacity of measuring several organ flows simultaneously.
mesh_terms: D000768:Anesthesia, General; D000818:Animals; D001794:Blood Pressure; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D008297:Male; D008722:Methods; D008863:Microspheres; D010424:Pentobarbital; D051381:Rats; D012039:Regional Blood Flow; D013737:Testis / Q000098:blood supply*; D014980:Xenon Radioisotopes
chemical_list: D014980:Xenon Radioisotopes; D010424:Pentobarbital