Effect of the Autonomic Nervous System on Arteriolar Tone in the Experimental Animal

Abstract

Evidence obtained from experiments involving perfusion of vascular beds and cardiac output studies with controlled filling pressure of the right heart before and during ganglionic blockade support the view that the heart of the dog is tonically stimulated by its sympathetic innervation. The blockade of this tonic stimulation to the heart permits a reduction in cardiac output. The fall in cardiac output results in a decrease in passive stretch of the arterial system which permits a passive rise in peripheral resistance thus compensating for the loss of arteriolar tone so that the peripheral resistance may be unchanged during ganglionic blockade despite a reduction in neurogenic arteriolar tone.