Abstract
Vagotomy is an effective form of therapy for bleeding from acute gastric mucosal erosions (stress ulcers). The mechanism of its effect is not fully understood, but alterations in microvascular blood flow within the stomach have been postulated. Since stress ulcers occur almost exclusively in the body of the stomach, experiments were performed to compare the effects of vagotomy upon the microcirculation of the oxyntic gland (corpus) and pyloric gland (antrum) regions of the rat stomach. The experiments employed direct in vivo observations in chloraloseanesthetized Wistar rats using a video microscope system that allowed magnifications of up to 300x. Changes in microvessel diameter and rate of flow were analyzed during playback of videotapes. Following bilateral truncal vagotomy there was increased flow in the pyloric submucosal microvessels but no change in mucosal flow for up to 1 hr. In the oxyntic gland area there was decreased submucosal flow and venous congestion in the mucosal layer. No arteriovenous anastomoses were seen either before or after vagotomy. This intragastric redistribution of microvascular blood flow may be important factor in the beneficial effects that vagotomy has in bleeding stress ulcers.
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