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Journal of Experimental Biology, Vol 176, Issue 1 247-270, Copyright © 1993 by Company of Biologists
JOURNAL ARTICLES |
D. R. Jones and G. Shelton
Blood pressures have been recorded in the heart along with pressures and flow in the aortic arches of anaesthetized and awake alligators. Systemic blood pressures were significantly lower [5.22+/-0.57 kPa (N=3) versus 9.85+/-0.46 kPa (N=5)] and cardiac outputs higher [51.6+/-3.5 ml min-1 kg-1 (N=3) versus 25.5+/-8.2 ml min-1 kg-1 (N=5)] in awake compared with anaesthetized animals. Using pharmacological interventions, two types of right-to-left shunt could be induced in all alligators. In one, established after acetylcholine (ACh) injection into the right side of the circulation, left aortic flow was an anterograde monophasic pulse which occurred when pulmonary pressure exceeded systemic blood pressure. Hence, this left aortic flow pattern could also be induced by mechanical occlusion of both pulmonary arteries. About one-quarter of cardiac output could bypass the lungs during this shunt. However, this left aortic flow pattern was never seen under any conditions other than pharmacological intervention. In the other type of shunt, induced pharmacologically by ACh injection into the left side of the circulation, left aortic flow was biphasic with a period of backflow, initiated during systole, being progressively shortened by the onset of forward flow from the right ventricle. Establishment of this type of shunt depended on the magnitude of both the systemic pressure and the pressure generated by right ventricular contraction after closure of the pulmonary outflow tract. The amount of blood bypassing the lungs during this shunt was small (13.7+/-5 % of cardiac output) but, at maximum, could be almost 25 % of cardiac output. This shunt occurred naturally in resting animals and could be maintained for substantial periods (13.2 min). The present observations confirm those made previously on anaesthetized alligators and extend previous work by showing two potential types of shunt. Finally, we suggest that right-to-left blood shunting in crocodilians may be related to the 'alkaline tide' that occurs after feeding, so the unique design of the central cardiovascular system in crocodilians could relate to both gastrointestinal and cardiorespiratory physiology.
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