Perfusion of the intact and partially isolated rat mesenteric vascular bed: application to vessels from hypertensive and normotensive rats.

In the present study, we utilized 2 perfused mesenteric vascular bed preparations in an examination of the responses of mesenteric vessels from spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats. One preparation involved perfusion of the mesenteric vascular bed dissected free from the intestine. The second preparation was essentially similar, with the exception that the intestine and the small arterioles feeding the jejunum were intact. The results suggested that the small vessels offer a significant contribution to the mechanical resistance to perfusion in the mesenteric vasculature and are important in the neurogenic responses of this preparation. In contrast, the arterioles in the arcade supplying the jejunum play only a minor role in the responses of the mesenteric vascular bed to intraluminally injected vasoactive substances. It was found that mesenteric preparations from SHR rats responded more forcefully to intraluminally administered norepinephrine and potassium, regardless of whether the intestine was absent or present. Similarly, the responses of mesenteric preparations to electrical nerve stimulation were greater in preparations from SHR rats, particularly when the intestine was present. It is concluded that the perfused mesenteric vasculature from SHR rats is more responsive to vasoactive substances and nerve stimulation and that this feature is not exclusively dependent upon a contribution to contraction by the arterioles supplying the jejunum.