ARTICLES

Hemodynamics and metabolism of the in vivo vascularly isolated canine pancreas

Surgical procedures are detailed that have yielded for the first time an in vivo vascularly isolated, autoperfused preparation of the entire pancreas in anesthetized dogs. Previous studies had isolated only part of the pancreas or had resorted to blood-flow techniques not requiring pooled pancreatic venous blood, necessary for metabolic studies of the organ. Pancreatic blood flow (48 ml/min), O2 uptake (180 mumol/min), glucose uptake (51.0 mumol/min), lactate output (6.6 mumol/min), net free fatty acid uptake (2.23 mumol/min), all per 100 g tissue, and various other measured and calculated hemodynamic and metabolic variables were determined on the preparation during control conditions. The stability of the preparation was verified by serial determinations of these parameters and of blood alpha-amylase and beta-glucuronidase levels from 1 to 2.5 h postsurgery. Metabolic rate and glucose uptake were both found to be much higher than in intestinal tissues and approached values characteristic of liver tissue.