title: Regional cerebral blood flow measurement in rats with radioactive microspheres.
abstract: The effect of the method of heart catheterization on the measurement of cerebral blood flow (CBF) with radioactive microspheres was evaluated during various experimental procedures in male Sprague-Dawley rats. Catheters were inserted into the left ventricle via the right carotid or right subclavian artery or directly into the left atrium for microsphere injections. CBF was measured in cerebral cortical and subcortical tissues under control anesthetized (70% N2O, 30% O2), hypoxic or hypercapnic test conditions. Under control conditions, CBF was similar in the right vs the left cerebral hemisphere in subclavian artery and atrial catheterized rats but was greater in the left vs the right cortex in carotid catheterized animals (p less than .05). During hypoxia and hypercapnia CBF increased equally in both cerebral hemispheres in atrial catheterized rats. The increase in CBF was significantly attenuated in the cerebral hemisphere ipsilateral to carotid catheterization during hypoxia and hypercapnia, although the percentage increase in flow was similar in both hemispheres. The results indicate the limitations of measuring regional CBF changes under experimental test conditions in rats with a ligated carotid artery and suggest that atrial catheterization is the method of choice when comparable changes in CBF are desired in both cerebral hemispheres.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006328:Cardiac Catheterization / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002339:Carotid Arteries; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation; D006935:Hypercapnia / Q000503:physiopathology; D000860:Hypoxia / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008863:Microspheres; D011868:Radioisotopes; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains
chemical_list: D011868:Radioisotopes