Regulation of arterial blood pressure in the common green iguana.

Arterial blood pressure (ABP) responses to graded hemorrhage and passive head-up tilt were studied in restrained, anesthetized, and unanesthetized iguanas. The ABP fell slowly in response to hemorrhage up to a critical deficit of 35 plus or minus 19% of the estimated blood volume; the rate of ABP fall then increased nearly 40-fold to continued hemorrhage. Increased heart rate and decreased femoral arterial blood flow accompanied progressive hemorrhage. Propranolol (2-3 mug/kg) did not appreciably alter arterial pressure-hemorrhage curves but hemorrhage-induced increases in heart rate were diminished nearly 50%. Atropine had little effect on either the blood pressure or heart rate changes induced by hemorrhage. During passive tilts of 0-90 degrees carotid arterial pressure fell 33% before returning to control levels (2 min). Heart rate increased and femoral arterial blood flow and central venous pressure fell in response to head-up tilts. It is concluded that hemorrhage and passive head-up tilting can induce reflex cardiovascular changes that assist ABP regulation in iguanas.