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CATION STUDIES DURING EXPERIMENTAL HYPOTHERMIA
Author(s) -
HERCUS VICTOR,
BOWMAN SHEILAH
Publication year - 1959
Publication title -
australasian annals of medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.596
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1445-5994
pISSN - 0571-9283
DOI - 10.1111/imj.1959.8.2.123
Subject(s) - hypothermia , sodium , potassium , chemistry , skeletal muscle , anesthesia , blood pressure , medicine , organic chemistry
Summary Experimental hypothermia in sheep was produced by immersing them in an iced water bath, the body temperature being lowered to 28°–30° C. The animal was anaesthetized with sodium pentobarbitone given intravenously and mechanically ventilated with oxygen during the procedure. There was a significant fall in the serum potassium level and a rise in the hæmatocrit as a result of this cooling. Examination of specimens of skeletal muscle showed that water and sodium had entered the muscle fibre, with a consequent dilution of its potassium. The sulphate space of skeletal muscle was reduced. The changes in muscle suggest either an anoxic effect possibly resulting from the hæmodynamic changes (lowered cardiac output, increased blood viscosity, lowered blood pressure, lowered heart rate and peripheral vasoconstriction) produced by hypothermia, or a direct depression of cell metabolism reducing the energy production necessary to maintain an effective “sodium pump”. All the changes observed were reversed after of the animals were rewarmed.