Local increase in concentration of steroids by venous-arterial transfer in the pampiniform plexus.

Abstract

The ability of the pampiniform plexus to exchange respiratory gases was recognized by Cross and Silver (1) and examined by Setchell and Hinks (2) in conscious and anesthetized rams and marsupials. Transfer of oxygen and CO2 was found only in anesthetized rams breathing oxygen-rich gas mixtures and amounted to a 5% rise in pCO2 and a 22% fall in pO2 of arterial blood as it passed through the plexus. Other than countercurrent exchange of heat (3) this was the first demonstration of exchange in the pampiniform plexus.