Acid-base status and cardiovascular function in pigs and rats anaesthetized with alpha-chloralose and nitrous oxide

Abstract

Alpha~chloralose possesses distinct advantages in certain types of experiments, i.e. in cardiovascular and gastrointestinal research, The compound, however, has limited - if any - analgetic effect, and surgery can only be performed if additional analgesic drugs are administered. In the present study pigs and rats were anaesthetized with a combination of alpha-chloralose and nitrous oxide. A satisfactory surgical anaesthesia could be achieved in pigs using this method, whereas the dose required to obtain surgical anaesthesia in rats caused severe depression of the cardiovascular system. Moreover, a combined metabolic and dilutien acidosis was seen in the rat.