Cochlear blood flow in the rat. A methodological evaluation of the microsphere method.
With the microsphere method it is possible to quantify the blood flow in various organs. The blood flow in the cochlea is only a very small part of the cardiac output and only relatively few microspheres are caught in this organ, which necessitates large groups of animals for such studies. The method has, however, not been fully evaluated for studies of small organs in small animals. In this study, 130 rats of various ages with normal or arterial hypertension were investigated. The blood flows of 97 animals were possible to evaluate. It was found that physiological parameters, such as PCO3, pH, PO2 and mean arterial blood pressure within the rather wide limits usually present in the anesthetized animal did not affect the cochlear blood flow to any great extent and that the method is feasible for studies of the blood flow through the inner ear in small animals.
D000818:Animals; D001775:Blood Circulation; D001794:Blood Pressure; D001835:Body Weight; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000097:blood; D002302:Cardiac Output; D003051:Cochlea / Q000098:blood supply*; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008297:Male; D008722:Methods; D008863:Microspheres; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D051381:Rats; D011918:Rats, Inbred SHR; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D011921:Rats, Inbred WKY; D012039:Regional Blood Flow
D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D010100:Oxygen