Responses of abdominal vascular resistance and capacitance to stimulation of carotid chemoreceptors in anaesthetized dogs.

1. In anaesthetized dogs the regions of the carotid bifurcations were isolated vascularly and perfused at constant non-pulsatile pressures. The abdominal circulation was isolated vascularly, perfused at constant flow and drained through the inferior vena cava at constant pressure. Vascular resistance and capacitance responses were determined from the changes in perfusion pressure and changes in venous outflow. 2. Stimulation of carotid chemoreceptors with venous blood resulted in an increase in arterial perfusion pressure of 38% (S.E. +/- 4.6) and a decrease in vascular capacitance of 24.4 +/- 2.5 ml. (1.05 +/- 0.24 ml. kg-1). 3. When carotid perfusion pressure was higher than 17 kPa, stimulation of chemoreceptors resulted in significantly (P less than 0.05) smaller resistance responses but significantly (P less than 0.05) greater capacitance responses than those obtained at lower carotid pressures. 4. These results show that abdominal resistance and capacitance vessels constrict in response to stimulation of carotid chemoreceptors. We suggest that the larger responses of capacitance and the smaller responses of resistance obtained at higher carotid sinus pressures may be due to different sensitivities of resistance and capacitance vessels to efferent sympathetic nerve activity.