SHOCK induced by intravenous injection of Escherichia coli endotoxin is a widely used model in experimental shock work because it resembles clinical septic shock in a variety of respects1 and is an easy and relatively reproducible way of incuding hypotension.
However, comprehensive reports on hemodynamic changes in endotoxin shock are few, results are contradictory, and relatively little is known about regional blood flow and vascular resistance changes.
As adequate understanding of the hemodynamic derangements is an obvious requirement for rational treatment, the purpose of this investigation was to measure cardiac output as well as blood flow in the renal, superior mesenteric, and femoral arteries in order to document changes in regional blood flows and vascular resistances in endotoxin shock.
Materials and Methods
Ten adult, healthy, mongrel dogs of both sexes weighing 21.8 to 33.5 kg (48 to 73.8 lb) were used for the experiment. Anesthesia was induced with intravenously