An ultrasonic Doppler venous outflow method for the continuous measurement of cerebral blood flow in conscious sheep.

A pulsed ultrasonic Doppler venous outflow method was developed for the continuous measurement of global cerebral blood flow (CBF) in conscious sheep. The sheep were prepared under anesthesia with a "suture down"-style ultrasonic flow probe on the dorsal sagittal sinus placed via a trephine hole. Angiographic and dye studies showed that the dorsal sagittal sinus at the point of placement of the probe collected the majority of the blood from the cerebral hemispheres. Studies of the blood velocity profile across the sinus showed that the dimensions of the dorsal sagittal sinus changed minimally with changes in CBF in vivo. The velocity measurements were calibrated under anesthesia against an in vivo direct venous outflow method. Control CBF values for six sheep ranged from 31 to 53 ml/min for the area of brain described above; for two sheep in which the weight of the brain was determined, this gave total CBF values of approximately 34 and 30 ml min-1 100 g-1. The CBF measured varied in the expected manner with changes in the end-tidal CO2 concentration in expired breath and showed transient reductions with the barbiturate thiopentone and transient increases with the opiate alfentanil. It is concluded that the method is simple and accurate.