Effect of ether anesthesia on the cardiac output, blood pressure, and distribution of blood flow in the albino rat.

Rats anesthetized with ethyl ether were compared with rats anesthetized with sodium pentobarbital from the standpoint of cardiac output, peripheral resistance and regional blood flow. Cardiac output was measured by the indicator-dilution technic; regional blood flow was determined by the indieator-fractionation technic employing Rb or I-antipyrine. The cardiac output is one and a half times as great in ether anesthesia as in pentobarbital anesthesia; the peripheral resistance is about two-thirds as great with ether. Compared to pentobarbital, ether increases myocardial, cerebral, and carcass blood flow, while decreasing renal, splanchnic and cutaneous blood flow. The pronounced difference in the cardiovascular effects of the two agents indicates the need for caution in the interpretation of experiments in which cardiovascular measurements are made under anesthesia.