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Adrenergic Transmission in Small Arteries

Nature volume 216, pages 289–290 (1967)Cite this article

Abstract

TRANSMISSION of excitation from nerve to vascular smooth muscle is poorly understood. Bevan and his co-workers1,2 were unable to detect any change in membrane potential in pulmonary arterial muscle after sympathetic nerve stimulation, although contraction occurred. Steedman3 found that sympathetic nerve stimulation increased the firing of action potentials in rat mesenterie arterial muscle, as did nerve stimulation of rabbit portal vein muscle4. Only in the arterial muscle of one species—the guinea-pig—has a discrete depolarization, reminiscent of the excitatory junction potential (EJP) recorded from other smooth muscle, been reported5. The following data show that EJPs can be elicited from muscle cells in several arteries of the rabbit.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Human Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Adelaide,

    R. N. SPEDEN

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  1. R. N. SPEDEN
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SPEDEN, R. Adrenergic Transmission in Small Arteries. Nature 216, 289–290 (1967). https://doi.org/10.1038/216289a0

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