The effects of preload, after load, and epinephrine on cardiac performance in the sea raven, Hemitripterus americanus

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Abstract
The preparation of the in situ heart was accomplished without any physical disturbance to the heart. The heart generated an intrinsic rhythm which was steady throughout the experiment and apparently was derived from the sinoatrial pacemaker. The power output developed by the in situ heart at physiological preloads and after loads was comparable to in vivo values. The effect of increasing preload (0 to 3 cmH2O) was a fourfold increase in stroke volume with little or no change in heart rate. When after load was changed (25 to 45 cmH2O) heart rate was unchanged and stroke volume was usually maintained. As a consequence, cardiac output was maintained by intrinsic factors alone at a higher work load. Epinephrine (10−9 to 10−5 M) in the perfusate produced relatively weak positive chronotropic and inotropic effects. The increase in cardiac output produced by epinephrine was small compared with the intrinsic changes evoked when preload was raised.

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