Pulmonary Edema as a Consequence of Hypothalamic Lesions in Rats

Abstract

Rats were observed for the incidence of pulmonary edema after the placement of hypothalamic lesions by radio frequency thermocoagulation or d-c electrolysis. In the animals with electrolytic lesions, 31 percent died with pulmonary edema and marked signs were observed in another 20 percent. Moderate transient signs appeared in only 3.7 percent of the animals with radio-frequency lesions, and there were no deaths attributable to this syndrome in this group. These results suggest that this syndrome is an irritative consequence of the electrolytic lesion process rather than a "release" phenomenon.