Release of Histamine into Gastric Venous Blood Following Injury by Acetic or Salicylic Acid

Abstract

Summary The stomachs of anesthetized dogs were filled with 154 mm NaCl, 100 mm HCl, 100 mm acetic acid, or 20 mm salicylic acid in 100 mm HCl. Gastric venous and femoral arterial blood samples were taken at various intervals for the next 120 rein, and their histamine content was determined. Within 5 min there was a significant increase in the histamine concentration of the blood draining the stomachs filled with acetic acid. A similar increase occurred within 10 min in the blood from the salicylic acidtreated stomachs. Femoral arterial samples taken concurrently with the gastric venous samples containing the peak amounts of histamine contained little or no histamine. In no experiment was an increase in histamine detected in blood from a stomach containing NaCl or HCl. Histamine always appeared early in the salicylic and acetic acid irrigation solutions and reached peak concentrations at 15 min. Histamine was usually absent from the NaCl solutions until 1 hr of irrigation had elapsed, and then the concentrations reached were low. We conclude that the increased amount of histamine in the gastric venous blood during injury is proof that it is released into the mucosal interstitial fluid, where it can exert its characteristic physiological actions.