Suppresion of autonomic postganglionic discharges by pentobarbital in dogs, with or without endotoxemia.

Initial effects of pentobarbital (8 mg/kg) on autonomic efferent and afferent discharge rates were studied in 26 dogs under morphine-chloralose anesthesia. Half of the dogs were given endotoxin E. coli (1 mg/kg) before pentobarbital. The postganglionic cervical vagal efferentation of all the dogs decreased as did the postganglionic cardiac sympathetic efferentation. The heart rate of the dogs given endotoxin decreased, while an increase in heart rate with abolition of respiratory arrhythmia, was observed in dogs without endotoxin. The aortic pressure of the former dogs dropped while it fell only slightly in the latter ones. The aortic arch baroreceptor activity decreased while the changes of left atrial B-type receptor activity were not significant. The changes of the left atrial and central venous pressures were slight but those of the pulmonary arterial pressure generally paralleled the changes in the aortic pressure. Pentobarbital, accordingly, seems to exert both sympatholytic and vagolytic effects. These explain the heart rate changes, as well as the impaired cardiac contractility it evokes. The obvious impairment of cardiovascular control mechanisms by pentobarbital should be seriously considered in investigations into the cardiovascular control.