ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Cerebral Microcirculation during Respiratory Arrest in Deep Experimental Rat Hypothermia

We investigated the effect of breath stimulation on cerebral microcirculation at deep hypothermic condition of Wistar rats using the method for measuring microcirculation in real time and optical system of LUMAM-1 microscope. After a hypothermic respiratory arrest in the group without the usage of mechanical ventilation, the blood flow velocity decreases sharply and completely stops after 10 minutes. In the group with the usage of mechanical ventilation, the blood flow velocity is increased compared to the rate when breathing stops and for a long time stays at an elevated level. We have found that mechanical lung ventilation significantly improved cerebral blood flow and prolonged heart function.