Further Studies on the Action of Acetazolamide and the Venous Pressure of the Eye

Abstract

Introduction It has been reported that acetazolamide lowers the venous pressure of the cat eye together with its intraocular pressure.¹ It has not been ascertained, however, whether the decrease in venous pressure is due to the concomitant fall of eye pressure or whether a decrease in the venous pressure causes the fall of the intraocular pressure. A second problem related to the observation on intraocular and venous pressure deals with the question of a specific carbonic anhydrase inhibition or a nonspecific factor as the underlying mechanism. Clarification of these two problems is the subject of this report. Methods Intact Animal Experiments. —Fifteen young adult cats anesthetized with pentobarbital sodium (35 mg. per kilogram intraperitoneally) were used in these experiments. All animals were tracheotomized to insure a patent airway. Arterial blood pressure was measured from the catheterized femoral artery by means of a Sanborn Electromanometer. Anterior chamber pressure in both