THE RESULT OF INTRA-ARTERIAL INJECTION OF VASODILATING DRUGS ON THE CIRCULATION: OBSERVATIONS ON VASOMOTOR GRADIENT

Abstract

The vasodilating drugs, papaverine hydrochloride, Acetyl B-methylcholine (mecholyl), and histamine, could not be "fixed" in an extremity to any great degree by injecting them intra-arterially. E.g., the results on the temp. of the toes of the right foot of injecting mecholyl into the right femoral artery were about the same as those which follow the inj. of mecholyl into the brachial artery. The lower extremities contrasted to the upper extremities were refractory to vasodilating agents, as shown by the fact that the vasodilating drugs used produced moderate to marked increases in temps. of the fingers and very little or no increase in the temps. of the toes regardless of whether papaverine and mecholyl were injected into the femoral artery, into the brachial artery, intraven. or intramuscularly. This refractoriness of vasodilatation in the lower extremities seemed intimately associated in some way, as yet unexplained, with much higher incidence of chronic occlusive arterial diseases in this region.