Wj. Weidner et Ct. Lancaster, Effects of Monastral((R)) blue on pulmonary arterial blood pressure and lung and liver particle retention in chickens, POULTRY SCI, 78(6), 1999, pp. 878-882
The effects of intravenous administration of the vascular tracer Monastral(
R) blue (MB) on pulmonary arterial blood pressure and the retention of MB b
y lung and liver were assessed in anesthetized White Leghorn cocks. Pulmona
ry arterial blood pressure and systemic blood pressure were measured by dir
ect cannulation. Administration of MB alone had no effect on either pulmona
ry arterial blood pressure or systemic arterial blood pressure; however, fo
llowing pretreatment with endotoxin (ENDO), infusion of MB caused a rapid a
nd transient increase in pulmonary arterial blood pressure. Histological ex
amination of lungs and liver from these animals showed a greater accumulati
on of MB in liver than in lung, in which virtually no MB was observed by li
ght microscopy. The relative amounts of MB in lung and liver were measured
by atomic emission spectrophotometry in animals given MB alone and followin
g ENDO pretreatment, In either case the total amount of MB retained by the
lungs was less than 2% of the injected dose, whereas liver retention of MB
was approximately 88% in those birds given MB alone and 80% in those pretre
ated with ENDO. The results of this study suggest that chickens do not poss
ess reactive pulmonary intravascular macrophages (PIMS), as, in those speci
es in which reactive PIMS are present, injection of MB alone causes a marke
d increase in pulmonary arterial blood pressure and substantial lung retent
ion of the tracer.