Druck-Stromstärke-Beziehungen der Porta-Lebervenen-Strombahn bei Hunden und Katzen

Summary

Pressure-flow relations of the intrahepatic venous pathways show—in dogs and cats—no autoregulatory responses but rather a purely passive pressure adjustment (Fig. 1, 4). Adrenaline and Papaverine have a smaller effect on the flow-pressure curves in the cat than in the dog (Fig. 3). The portal inflow seems to be regulated almost entirely by vasomotor responses (reflex and autoregulatory) of the splanchnic vessels. There is no evidence for any mechanism regulating the venous hepatic outflow in the cat, whereas the dog has a sometimes effectuous throttle mechanism situated in the hepatic veins. The most important factor for venous outflow appears to be (in both species) the caval pressure. The liver does not seem to play an important active hemodynamic role in body circulation at least in cats. The pressure-flow relations of the intrahepatic venous pathways of this species indicate a vascular organization, which, for purely metabolic reasons, allows the highest possible flow rate with the smallest possible portal pressure head.

Our results would suggest that cats are preferable to dogs in animal-experiments performed to draw conclusions about the pressure-flow-relations in the human liver.