THE INFLUENCE OF HEMORRHAGE ON LIVER MICROCIRCULATION OF THE CIRRHOTIC RAT

Bleeding from esophageal varices is highly lethal in cirrhotics, the m ain cause of death being liver failure. Because adequate hepatic perfu sion is a prerequest for the maintenance of liver function, the presen t study was designed to evaluate the influence of hemorrhagic shock on liver microcirculation in rats with portal hypertension due to cirrho sis of the liver induced by CCl4. In 16 cirrhotic rats and an equal nu mber of controls, hepatic microcirculation was continously assessed - by means of laser-Doppler flowmetry, through a self-adhesive probe att ached to the liver surface, before and during a 15 min period of arter ial hypotension (40 mmHg) induced by blood withdrawal. Our findings re vealed that immediately following hemorrhage there is a statistically significant reduction of microcirculation in cirrhotics versus control s. The results of this study assist in the better understanding of the hemodynamic conditions which prevail in the cirrhotic liver during th e first minutes of hemorrhage.