The paradox of sympathetic vasoconstriction in exercising skeletal muscle.
Is there sympathetic vasoconstriction in exercising skeletal muscle? Although convincing evidence exists that demonstrates vasoconstriction in active muscle, the proposition that the sympathetic nervous system constricts skeletal muscle during exercise poses a paradox, given the robust vasodilation that occurs in muscle during exercise. Ultimately, muscle perfusion is a balance between metabolic vasodilation and sympathetic vasoconstriction.
Buckwalter
J B
JB
Department of Anesthesiology, Medical College of Wisconsin, and Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Milwaukee 53295, USA. jbuckwal@mcw.edu
Clifford
P S
PS
D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D002302:Cardiac Output; D015444:Exercise / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney / Q000098:blood supply; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000502:physiology*; D012039:Regional Blood Flow; D013564:Sympathetic Nervous System / Q000502:physiology*; D014661:Vasoconstriction / Q000502:physiology*