Arterial blood supply of the left lobe of the canine pancreas. II. Electromagnetic flow measurements.

The arterial blood flow through the left lobe of the canine pancreas was assessed by means of electromagnetic flow measurements under three different experimental conditions. First, flow was measured in 14 unmodified left pancreatic segments. The mean segmental blood flow was 9.1 +/- 4.5 ml/min, while the mean blood flow through the splenic artery was 53.3 +/- 21.2 ml/min. Next, flow was measured in seven of these dogs 1/2 hour after occlusion of the ductal system and construction of an end-to-end arteriovenous fistula between the distal splenic vessels. The segmental pancreatic blood flow remained unchanged, and the blood flow in the splenic artery increased more than twofold. Third, flow was measured in seven dogs (eight measurements) at 3 to 8 months after ductal occlusion of the left lobe. No significant decrease in segmental pancreatic blood flow was demonstrable up to 8 months. It is concluded that the arterial blood flow through the left lobe of the canine pancreas amounts to less than 20% of that in the splenic artery, that an end-to-end arteriovenous fistula increases the blood flow through the splenic artery and thus may contribute to the prevention of vascular thrombosis, and that the eventual decrease of endocrine function or occurrence of vascular thrombosis in duct-obliterated pancreatic grafts cannot be readily explained by a reduced blood flow as a consequence of either duct obliteration as such or fibrosis induced by duct obliteration.