R. E. Shipley

Pithed Rat Preparation Suitable for Assaying Pressor Substances

Summary A simple method is described for setting up a sensitive pithed rat preparation suitable for assaying small quantities of pressor substances.

Measurement of Mean Blood Flow in Arteries and Veins by Means of the Rotameter.

Summary and Conclusions The rotameter has been used to measure cardiac input and mean blood flow in the arteries and veins of the anesthetized dog. Typical records are shown. Tests indicate that in routine use the instrument will give reliable blood flow values with an error of less than 10%. Its use enables the experimenter to determine at a glance the moment to moment flow during the time that flow is actually being measured, an advantage not possessed by any other known method. The rotameter is so simple in operation that it should also serve a very useful purpose for the measurement of blood flows in student experiments in the classroom for which as yet no simple and reliable method has been available.

Estimation of clotting accelerator activity in plasma after ingestion of fat.

A relatively simple method is presented which permits a quantitative estimation of a “coagulation accelerator activity” which appears in plasma of human and dog blood after oral ingestion of various fats. Accelerator activity and increased plasma turbidity were observed after ingestion of cream, peanut oil, cocoanut oil, linseed oil, or sodium oleate. Peak responses were seen between 3 and 5 hours after fat intake with gradual return toward control levels in 7 hours.

Effect of glucose on appearance of plasma-clotting accelerator activity, lactescence, and plasma lipids in fat-fed dogs.

The influence of glucose, given orally and intravenously, on the acceleration of plasma clotting and appearance of lipemia following the feeding of peanut oil was determined in dogs. Oral glucose blocked or masked the appearance of plasma lactescence and clotting accelerator activity, whereas intravenous administration tended to delay their appearance. In other experiments heparin abolished or reduced plasma lactescence without modifying clotting accelerator activity induced by fat feeding.