Thermally-induced cutaneous sympathetic activity related to blood flow through capillaries and arteriovenous anastomoses

In the ears of anaesthetized rabbits cutaneous efferent sympathetic nerve activity (SkNA) and blood flow (Q) to capillaries have been measured during various thermal treatments. Warming the spinal cord or skin of the body midside caused a marked decrease in SkNA but capillary Q increased only slight...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Pflügers Archiv 1978-01, Vol.375 (1), p.17-24
Main Authors: Hales, J R, Iriki, M, Tsuchiya, K, Kozawa, E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Arteriovenous Anastomosis
Body Temperature Regulation
Capillaries
Hot Temperature
Rabbits
Reflex
Regional Blood Flow
Skin - blood supply
Skin - innervation
Skin Physiological Phenomena
Spinal Cord - physiology
Sympathetic Nervous System - physiology
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Summary:In the ears of anaesthetized rabbits cutaneous efferent sympathetic nerve activity (SkNA) and blood flow (Q) to capillaries have been measured during various thermal treatments. Warming the spinal cord or skin of the body midside caused a marked decrease in SkNA but capillary Q increased only slightly. Exposure to a warm environment or localized warming of the ear alone induced either a decrease, an increase, or no change in SkNA, but capillary Q always increased markedly. The usual slight increase in capillary Q during spinal warming, was abolished by preventing the usual marked increase in skin temperature. When the spinal cord of the conscious rat was warmed, a marked increase in temperature of the tail (which contains arteriovenous anastomoses, AVA's) indicated dilatation, whereas there was no change in ear temperature (where there are no AVA's). When these results are considered together with recently defined differential influences of reflex and direct effects of temperature on blood flow through cutaneous AVA's and capillaries, it is concluded: (1) That thermally-induced reflex changes in skin blood flow are mediated via sympathetic nervous action on AVA's; (2) Changes in blood flow evoked by direct heating take place through the capillaries, not the AVA's, quite independently of SkNA.
ISSN:0031-6768
1432-2013
DOI:10.1007/bf00584143