Systemic hypoxia results in rapid increases in leukocyte-endothelial adherence (LEA) and emigration, vascular permeability, and mast cell activation in several microcirculations. Observations in cremaster muscle suggest that this response is initiated by a mediator released from a distant site (Dix R, Orth T, Allen JA, Wood JG, and Gonzalez NC. J Appl Physiol 95: 2495-2502, 2003). The present e...

Obese individuals exhibit impaired functional vasodilation and exercise performance. We have demonstrated in obese Zucker rats (OZ), a model of morbid obesity, that insulin resistance impairs functional vasodilation via an increased thromboxane receptor (TP)-mediated vasoconstriction. Chronic treadmill exercise training improves functional vasodilation in the spinotrapezius muscle of the OZ, bu...

Pressures in the primary arterioles of the cremaster muscle are reported to be approximately 50% of systemic, indicating that arterial resistance proximal to microvessels is high and may limit maximal blood flow. With no change in arterial resistance, increases in perfusion normally associated with muscle work either could not occur or would require increments in systemic pressure far greater t...

Autoregulatory responses to alterations in arterial or venous perfusion pressure were determined for individual arterioles within the rat cremaster muscle. The cremaster muscle of pentobarbital anesthetized rats (50 mg/kg, ip) was surgically exposed and maintained in a controlled tissue bath for visualization by in vitro television microscopy. Cremaster bath PO2 was controlled at either a high ...

PURPOSE Pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMF) are used clinically to expedite healing of fracture non-unions, however, the mechanism of action by which PEMF stimulation is effective is unknown. The current study examined the acute effects of PEMF stimulation on arteriolar microvessel diameters in the rat cremaster muscle. The study hypothesis was that PEMF would increase arteriolar diameters, a ...