Effect of body temperature change on cerebral oxygen consumption of the intact monkey

Abstract

The cerebral oxygen consumption of monkeys (Macaca mulatta) has been measured with the animals' rectal temperatures varying from 19° to 37° C. The animals were allowed to remain at the experimental temperature for 1 hour before oxygen consumption studies were done. Cerebral oxygen consumption was calculated using the Kety-Schmidt nitrous oxide technique for measuring cerebral blood flow. A linear relationship was found between the logarithm of the cerebral oxygen consumption and the reciprocal of the absolute temperature (°K) of the body. This held over the entire temperature range studied with a standard deviation about equal to that of the method for measuring the cerebral oxygen consumption.