Abstract

When intact rats are cooled, the blood pressure is well maintained down to a body temperature of 22 °C, below which it rapidly falls. When hypophysectomized rats are cooled the reduction in blood pressure bears a linear relation to the body temperature. The infusion of Pitressin into hypophysectomized animals during the cooling procedure restores the blood pressure – body temperature relationship to that seen in intact rats. This occurs whether or not the renal vessels are ligated and hence appears to be independent of renal factors. However, when the kidneys are exteriorized and warmed and, at the same time, Pitressin is infused into the hypophysectomized cooled rats, there is an excellent maintenance of blood pressure at the lower body temperatures, the blood pressure being 110 mm Hg when the body temperature is 12 °C. Infusions of angiotensin II and of renin also are effective in maintaining blood pressure in hypothermic hypophysectomized animals. This effect of renin is not influenced by exteriorizing and warming the kidneys, hence the enhancement of the effect of Pitressin by this procedure is not a consequence of the warming alone. Warming the exteriorized kidneys may release some factor or cause some change which, in the presence of Pitressin, effectively maintains blood pressure at low body temperatures.

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