EXPERIMENTAL CHRONIC HYPERTENSION IN THE RABBIT

Abstract

The blood pressure of adult rabbits was observed for 3 mos. or more following various operative procedures on the kidneys. The avg. rise in blood pressure following unilateral com-pression of the kidney did not exceed that which followed unilateral nephrectomy. Removal of the compressed kidney in a hypertensive animal did not result in lowering of the blood pressure. Rabbits may exhibit hypertension even in the absence of all renal tissue. The implications of the observed results on the concept of the mechanism of exptl. renal hypertension are discussed. In the rabbit, as in the rat, the available data support the view that chronic hyper-tension results from a deficiency induced by injury or removal of normal renal tissue and not from the formation of a renal pressor substance. The latter, however, may play a part in causing hypertension in the acute expt.