Although morphine sulfate is commonly administered to patients with acute myocardial infarction there are few controlled studies dealing with the circulatory effects of morphine after acute myocardial infarction, In aln uncontrolled study in man, Thomas et al. (1) studied 13 patients with acute myocardial infarction of varying severity and found that intravenously adlministered morphine produced varying effects on heart rate, blood pressure, pulse pressure, and cardiac output, depending on the pretreatment circulatory status of the patients. Vasko e.t al.( 2 ) reported on the mechanism of action of morphine in the treatment of experimentally produced acute pulmonary edema, including acute pulmonary edema secondary to myocardial infarction, but did not report the circulatory effects of morphine in acute myocardial infarction without pulmonary edema. In addition, their studies were made in a right heart bypass preparation which did not allow study of the enthe circulatory effects of (morphine.Accordingly our studies were designed to define the effects of morphine on the heart and circulation after acute myocardial infarction.Methods. Twenty-one mongrel dogs ranging in weight from 12 to 30 kg were anesthetized with a mixture of alpha-chloralose and urethane, 66 and 400 mgJkg, respectively. Artificial ventilation was maintained and supplemental anesthetic was administered during the procedure as necessary.A sternum-spli tting midline bhoracotomy These studies were supported in part by NIH Grants Nos. HE 09058, HE 05709, HE 05866; a grant from the American Heart Association, No. 708; and a grant from the National Aeronautics & Space Administration, No. 05 020 305.was performed and the tidal volume of the respirator was adjusted to provide complete expansion of the lungs. Arterial blood pH and p02 were analyzed frequently during each procedure and the tidal volume and respiratory rate were adjusted to maintain blood pH at 7.40 t 0.05 and arterial oxygen tension at 95 t 10 mm Hg. Fluid filled polyethylene catheters (PE-240) were inserted into the right atrium, left atrium, left ventricle, and ascending aorta. Catheters were colnnected to Statham P23Db transducers and pressures recorded on a Beckman Model R directwriting oscillograph. Mean aortic blood flow was measured with a gated sine-wave electromagnetic flowmeter (Biotronics, Silver Spring, Maryland); the flow probe was positioned around the ascending aorta immediately above the takeo'ff of the coronary arteries. The systemic vascular resistance was calculated by the formula: systemic vascular resistance = (mean aortic pressureright atrial pressure) /cardiac output (liters/min) . Myocardial contractility was estimated by measurement of the maximal rate of pressure rise in the left ventricle (LV d p / d t ) recorded directly from the left ventricular pressure by means of an RC differentiating circuit; the frequency response of this system averaged 30 CPS. The left ventricular catheter was made of stiff polyethylene and was 50 cm in length. Electrocardiographic lead ...