3 Development of cerebral edema and changes in autoregulation of cerebral blood flow cause by regional cerebral venous infarction in rabbits

Abstract

Regional cerebral venous infarction was induced in rabbits to assess the degree of resulting cerebral edema and changes in autoregulation of cerebral blood flow. The specific gravity of cerebral tissues was lower three hours after induction of infarction than it was before. The ratio of decrease in cerebral blood flow to the decrease in mean arterial pressure after exsanguination was greater in animals with infarction than in those without. These findings suggest that loss of autoregulation of cerebral blood flow is caused by an increase in the difference in hydrostatic pressure between the cerebral and surrounding tissues, which results in cerebral edema, as well as by disruption of the cerebral vascular endothelium.