Hemodynamic changes after aortopulmonary separation

Abstract

Abstract:The neural crest origin of the aortopulmonary septum has led us to investigate the septum. We designed the present study to assess the hemodynamic changes following aortopulmonary separation in the rat. We freed the ascending aorta from the pulmonary artery by blunt dissection and placed aluminium foil between them in anesthetized, ventilated, open-chest animals and found that the procedure resulted in a slight but significant increase in systolic anddiastolic blood pressure and in an insignificant elevation of the heart rate. The hemodynamic deterioration observed after the separation process might be a result of a possible function of the aortopulmonary septum on blood pressure regulation.