THE EFFECT OF ADRENALECTOMY, SURGICAL TRAUMA, AND ETHER ANESTHESIA UPON THE CAPILLARY RESISTANCE OF THE ALBINO RAT*

Abstract

CAPILLARY leakage associated with widespread vascular dilatation has long been considered as a typical change after adrenalectomy. The regular finding of hemoconcentration (Athanasiu and Gradinesco, 1909) and of increased protein in the lymph (Cope, Brenizer and Polderman, 1942), and furthermore the observation that spreading of intradermally injected India ink is augmented after adrenalectomy in the mouse (Opsahl, 1949), have been regarded as evidence for the increased capillary permeability. That adrenalectomy may affect the capillary resistance as well was shown recently by Eichholz, Staab and Taugner(1951). Studying the blood pressure and the capillary resistance of rats during the first twoweeks following adrenalectomy these authors found a decrease of the resistance from 76 to 46 cm. Hg as early as the third day. It is of interest that the change in the capillary resistance preceded the fall of the blood pressure by 1–2 days, and that both, hypotension and decreased resistance