Effect of Vasoactive Materials on the Peripheral Blood Vessels in the Hamster

Abstract

The terminal vascular bed of the hamster cheek pouch and mesocaecum were used for the bio-assay of biologically vasoactive materials. Cheek pouch arterioles were highly responsive to topically applied agents, the epinephrine threshold being determined to be 0.001-0.0001 mg/ml. Topical application of vasoactive materials to this site showed that epinephrine potentiating agents uniformly produced vasoconstriction and inhibitory agents dilation. Potentiation or inhibition of the constrictors response to direct electrical stimulation was shown to occur in the vascular bed of the hamster cheek pouch, following the intravenous injection of known epinephrine potentiating or epinephrine inhibitory agents, respectively. Response of the hamster mesocaecum to vasoactive agents intravenously closely parallels that previously shown in the rat.