Roles of adrenergic drugs in the renal pelvic pacemaker control of ureteral peristalsis.

Experiments were performed to explore the influence of noradrenaline and isoproterenol on the ureteral peristalsis in the canine pelviureteral system in vitro. The rhythmic changes of intrapelvic pressure no longer became manifest, and simultaneously recorded electromyograms revealed disappearance of peristalsis at sites distal to the upper region of the renal pelvis following application of isoproterenol, while the pacemaker at the pelvicalyceal border continued to discharge at an unaltered rate. It is concluded from our findings that both noradrenaline and isoproterenol act upon conduction of peristalsis rather than on the pacemaker as such, thereby facilitating or inhibiting the conduction, respectively, in their behavior toward ureteral peristalsis. The results also have demonstrated that the renal pelvic pressure recorded during treatment with isoproterenol did not reflect pacemaker activity of the renal pelvis.