Experimental hypertension. The effects of chemical ablation of the renal papilla on the blood pressure of rats with and without silver-clip hypertension.

Because of the ease with which ablation of the renal papilla of the rat can be effected by chemical means, a study was carried out to determine the effects of this ablation on the blood pressure. Significant elevation was found, lennding support to the idea of the antihypertensive role of the renal medulla. Constriction of one renal artery of rats with their papillae removed resulted in a more rapid and greater elevation of pressure than the same procedure in rats ith their papillae intact. The rise in pressure approximated the sum of the rises caused by removal of the papilla alone and by renal artery constriction alone, consistent with the idea of two mechanisms being at work in this model.