[Circulatory insufficiency and edema in experimental constriction of the thoracic segment of the vena cava inferior].

A method for reproducing circulatory insufficiency in rats by constriction of the intra thoracic portion of vena cava inferior is described. A sham operation on the control animals was restricted to thoracotomy. Rats which had been subjected to constriction of the vena cava consumed 0.85% sodium chloride solution intensively under conditions of free choice. This lead to rapid increase in mass with the development of subcutaneous edema, hydrothorax, and ascites within two to three days after the operation. Thinned out muscle fibres with decreased SDH activity were found in the myocardium of the both ventricles. Study of THO, 22Na, 36Cl, and thiocyanate distribution spaces showed that the total body water increase was consequent upon growth of the extracellular space with a constant intracellular volume.