The effect of carbon dioxide on the diameter of brain capillaries.

Cerebral capillaries in cats subjected to variations in carbon dioxide tensions were studied using carbon black perfusion fixation. Five animals each were grouped into hypocapnia, normocapnia, and hypercapnia and 500 cortical, 250 white matter and 250 caudate nucleus capillaries per group were analyzed at 400 x magnification. Capillary diameters were found to change significantly in the cortex (6.1-10.0 microns), white matter (6.5-9.6 microns) and caudate nucleus (6.3-8.8 microns) from hypocapnia to hypercapnia, respectively. These findings suggest that capillary vasomotion occurs and that capillaries are not rigid tubes as previously portrayed.