Adrenal Cortical Response to Immobilization in Conscious and Anesthetized Dogs

Abstract

Experiments were performed on 9 conscious and 5 anesthetized dogs. The animal was immobilized by strapping supine or prone to the animal table for 60 minutes. The adrenal venous blood was collected before, during and after the period of immobilization and was analyzed for 17-hydroxycorticosteroids (17-OHCS). The adrenal 17-OHCS secretion rate in conscious dogs before immobiliza-tion was 0.02-0.21μg/kg/min. In most cases it increased markedly during the immobilization period and reached 0.81-1.80μg/kg/min. This increase was attributable to elevated 17-OHCS concentration of adrenal venous blood. The 17-OHCS secretion rate in dogs anesthetized with sodium pentobarbital did not show any definite change during and after the immobilization period.