THE OCCURRENCE OF A VASOCONSTRICTOR SUBSTANCE IN BLOOD DURING SHOCK INDUCED BY TRAUMA, HEMORRHAGE AND BURNS

Abstract

Shock, whether elicited by tourniquets placed around the extremities, stripping and exposing the intestines, hemorrhage and burns, is associated with the appearance in the plasma of a substance which causes vasoconstriction in rabbits'' ears perfused with either Ca-free Ringer''s soln. or plasma. It does not originate in the kidneys, adrenal glands, nor does destruction of the spinal cord or renal denervation prevent its appearance. Evidence gathered from application of a method depending on "fatiguing" the vascular musculature suggests, if the validity of the method is acceptable, that the vasoconstrictor action of plasma from burned, bled and shocked dogs is caused by identical or very similar substances. Furthermore, it differs from the vasoconstrictors present in hypertensive''s (human and canine) plasma and in serum (human and canine). None of these vasoconstrictors seem to be histamine. This belief is confirmed by expts. on isolated intestines which show that serum causes marked contraction while plasma from burned or shocked dogs causes none.