title: Gravitational gradients and blood flow patterns in specialized arboreal (Ahaetulla nasuta) and terrestrial (Crotalus adamanteus) snakes.
abstract: Blood pressure and blood flow patterns were recorded from the carotid artery and aortae of a thick-bodied terrestrial snake (Crotalus adamanteus) and a thin-bodied arboreal species (Ahaetulla nasuta) anesthetized with ketamine hydrochloride. Hemodynamic stress induced by rotation resulted in pronounced changes in the blood flow patterns and pressure in C. adamanteus: rotation of A. nasuta produced changes of a similar type, but of a much lower magnitude. The markedly different responses of these two species, the baroreceptor reflexes of which were disrupted, suggest that morphological factors--such as differential gross cardiac displacement, or variation in the interaortic foramen--in addition to physiological factors, are important in determining a snake's ability to withstand hemodynamic stress.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Canada.
authors.forename: B A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Young
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Wassersug
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pinder
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000818:Animals; D001011:Aorta / Q000502:physiology; D001775:Blood Circulation / Q000502:physiology*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D002320:Cardiovascular Physiological Phenomena; D002339:Carotid Arteries / Q000502:physiology; D017839:Crotalus / Q000502:physiology*; D006112:Gravitation; D018475:Head-Down Tilt; D006439:Hemodynamics / Q000502:physiology; D011187:Posture / Q000502:physiology; D012039:Regional Blood Flow; D012399:Rotation; D012911:Snakes / Q000502:physiology*