Physiological studies on blood bradykininogen utilization in man

• Published in: British journal of experimental pathology Vol. 51; no. 6; pp. 611 - 616
• Main Authors: Cuschieri, A, Onabanjo, A O, James, P B
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 01-12-1970
• Subjects: Arteries; Blood Vessels - physiology; Bradykinin - blood; Cold Temperature; Dilatation; Hand - blood supply; Humans; Skin Temperature; Veins
• ISSN: 0007-1021

The experiments recorded in this work were conducted in apparently healthy subjects at different environmental conditions to study bradykininogen utilization and the arterio-venous (A-V) difference in blood. In the process of our studies, a significant A-V difference of kininogen values was obtained in the hand at an ambient temperature of 21·3° in individuals under general anaesthesia.
During periods of cold immersion, the venous bradykininogen rises above the initial values. The increase is thought to be the result of admixture of venous and arterial blood. Similarly, increased kininogen utilization occurred during cold vasodilatation of the hand. This rise provides indirect evidence of kinin release during this vascular phenomenon.
During the recovery phase after cold vasodilatation, the total mean venous kininogen level was found to be statistically similar to that obtained at the initial phase.
Possible reasons for the above significant differences have been discussed.