Abstract
Summary Systemic administration of pentobarbital to the rat leads to a fall in body temperature. The hypothermia is due to a combination of decreased metabolic heat production and increased heat loss through the skin as a result of peripheral vasodilation. There was no direct correlation between the rate of fall in temperature and the decrease in oxygen consumption. The rate of fall in temperature was determined primarily by the temperature gradient between the animal and the environment. The known effects of pentobarbital in decreasing oxidative processes in the tissues and in blocking transmission in autonomic ganglia could account for these changes. Microinjection of pentobarbital into the hypothalamus and the medullary vasomotor centers was without effect on the core temperature. It is concluded that the fall in temperature during barbiturate anesthesia is not due to a direct effect on the thermoregulatory centers in the hypothalamus.
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