Effects of distension of the urinary bladder on the cardiovascular reflexes from the carotid baroreceptors in the dog.

1. The hindlimb vasoconstrictor effects of distension of the urinary bladder were studied at different levels of input from the carotid sinus baroreceptors in the dog anaesthetized with a mixture of chloralose and urethane. 2. The vascularly isolated hindlimb was perfused at constant blood flow through its femoral artery, so that a change in pressure gradient (mean femoral arterial perfusion pressure minus mean inferior vena caval pressure) indicated a similar directional change in vascular resistance. The vascularly isolated carotid sinus regions were perfused with blood at a constant pulsatile flow. 3. Raising the carotid sinus mean perfusion pressure in randomly selected steps of 30 mmHg from 60 to 210 mmHg had little effect on heart rate unless the blood pressure was controlled, when a progressive bradycardia occurred, but caused a progressive reduction in arterial blood pressure and vasodilatation in the perfused hindlimb. Distension of the bladder at each level of carotid sinus pressure resulted in tachycardia, hypertension and hindlimb vasoconstriction. 4. The cardiac responses to bladder distension were the same at all carotid sinus pressures. When the blood pressure was controlled, however, the response was reduced at high and low sinus pressures. 5. The relationship between the carotid sinus perfusion pressure and hindlimb perfusion pressure (i.e. vascular resistance) was affected by distension of the bladder in two ways. In the one, hindlimb perfusion pressure increased by approximately the same amount at all levels of carotid sinus pressure indicating resetting of the carotid sinus baroreceptor reflex control of hindlimb vascular resistance towards vasoconstriction without change in gain of the reflex. In the other, the pressure increases were diminished at the higher levels of carotid sinus pressure indicating both resetting and an increase in gain of the reflex. 6. Both types of response occurred in the spontaneously breathing animal, in animals artificially ventilated, while pacing the heart, with the arterial blood pressure maintained constant at about 100 mmHg, and after division of the cervical vagosympathetic nerves. The frequency of occurrence of each type of response, however, varied under the different conditions. 7. The possible reasons for the two types of vascular response are discussed.