EFFECT OF PENTOTHAL ANESTHESIA ON CANINE CEREBRAL CORTEX

Abstract

The effect of light pentothal narcosis was compared with that of deep anesthesia; the avg. O2 intake in the brain of 7 dogs was found to fall from 5.9 ml. to 2.6 ml. oxygen/100 gs. of tissue/minute, a decrease of 56%. The cerebral metabolic rate was higher than that obtained from the brain of man and monkey by the same methods; the difference is imputed to the fact that in the dogs the venous blood comes chiefly from the cerebral hemispheres which possess a faster metabolism than the lower parts of the brain.