Alveolar gas composition and arterial hemoglobin oxygen desaturation patterns differed between a ground level and hypobaric exposure. Differences in mean number of hypoxia symptoms between hypobaric and normobaric environments after 1 min, but not at 3 and 4 min, coupled with similar patterns in symptom frequencies, suggest that ground-level hypoxia training may be a sufficiently faithful surrogate for altitude chamber training.

This study was undertaken to assess the influence of gravity on the distribution of pulmonary blood flow (PBF) using increased inertial force as a perturbation. PBF was studied in unanesthetized swine exposed to -Gx (dorsal-to-ventral direction, prone position), where G is the magnitude of the force of gravity at the surface of the Earth, on the Armstrong Laboratory Centrifuge at Brooks Air Force Base. PBF was measured using 15-micron fluorescent microspheres, a method with markedly enhanced spatial resolution. Each animal was exposed randomly to -1, -2, and -3 Gx. Pulmonary vascular pressures, cardiac output, heart rate, arterial blood gases, and PBF distribution were measured at each G level. Heterogeneity of PBF distribution as measured by the coefficient of variation of PBF distribution increased from 0.38 +/- 0.05 to 0.55 +/- 0.11 to 0.72 +/- 0.16 at -1, -2, and -3 Gx, respectively. At -1 Gx, PBF was greatest in the ventral and cranial and lowest in the dorsal and caudal regions of the lung. With increased -Gx, this gradient was augmented in both directions. Extrapolation of these values to 0 G predicts a slight dorsal (nondependent) region dominance of PBF and a coefficient of variation of 0.22 in microgravity. Analysis of variance revealed that a fixed component (vascular structure) accounted for 81% and nonstructure components (including gravity) accounted for the remaining 19% of the PBF variance across the entire experiment (all 3 gravitational levels). The results are inconsistent with the predictions of the zone model.

No abstract

This was undertaken to determine whether distension of the subdiaphragmatic veins results in reflex vasoconstriction and interacts with the carotid baroreflex. In alpha-chloralose-anesthetized open-chest dogs, a perfusion circuit controlled carotid and thoracic aortic pressures, splanchnic and limb blood flows, and cardiopulmonary blood flows. At carotid sinus pressures below approximately 90 mmHg, increases in splanchnic pressure of 7 mmHg or more resulted in increases in vascular resistance in both the splanchnic and limb circulations; there was no response at higher carotid pressures. At high venous pressures, the average maximum gains of the carotid baroreflex for splanchnic and limb resistance responses were increased by 106 and 67%, respectively. The responses were not abolished by cutting the vagal or phrenic nerves but were prevented by cutting the splanchnic nerves and, for the limb, the sciatic and femoral nerves. These results suggest that splanchnic congestion, by causing vasoconstriction and augmentation of the carotid baroreflex, may be important in the maintenance of blood pressure during gravitational stress.