The Use of Lymph for the Measurement of Gas Tensions in Interstitial Fluid and Tissues*

Effect of Corticosteroid Treatment on Lymph Oxygen Tension in Hemorrhagic Shock

“…Lymph oxygen tension was measured under normal conditions by Bergofsky et al [1,2], G roth et al [4], and W itte et al [19]. Our results in shock were con firmed by Berman et al [3].…”

Microlymphatic and tissue oxygen tension in the rat mesentery

“…lymph oxygen; lymphatic wall; oxygen consumption TISSUE OXYGEN LEVEL and its measurement are elusive parameters, whose precise meanings are still uncertain. From a practical viewpoint it is generally assumed that tissue PO 2 , also referred to as "tissue oxygenation," is represented by mixed venous PO 2 ; however, studies (5) on the microcirculation in intact tissue of awake animals as well as a compendium of microvascular studies in many tissues recently reported by Tsai et al (12) show that in many instances venular PO 2 is significantly higher than capillary and pericapillary tissue PO 2 . Understanding of the significance of tissue PO 2 is further obscured in considering that according to Richmond et al (9), critical PO 2 (the PO 2 at which cells switch to anaerobic metabolism) of skeletal muscle in vivo is ϳ2 mmHg, whereas the tissue is regulated at a PO 2 that is in the range of 20-22 mmHg.…”

“…These premises suggest that a better estimate of tissue PO 2 could be obtained by sampling PO 2 of tissue fluid or by measuring PO 2 of the excess tissue fluid that returns to the circulation via the lymphatic channels as proposed by Bergofsky et al (2). This concept was investigated using polarographic oxygen electrodes by Barankay et al (1) in the lymphatics of the rabbit hindlimb and by Farrell et al (4) in the mesenteric lymphatics of the dog.…”

Determination of Tissue O2 Tensions by Hollow Visceral Tonometers: Effect of Breathing Enriched O2 Mixtures*

“…This tendency of tissue°2 tension to fall lower than the value of draining venous blood has been observed previously (6, 7). On the other hand, the 02 tensions attributable to bladder tissues are not so low as those recorded from thoracic duct lymph (6). The reason for this difference is unclear; however, the present method measures only the values in two hollow viscera, whereas thoracic duct lymph measures the 02 tensions of hollow viscera, liver, and muscle together.…”

“…Numerous methods have been devised to measure respiratory gases in tissues, but each is hampered by artifacts that are likely to alter the gas tensions: polarographic needle electrodes implanted in tissues often rupture capillaries or compress blood vessels (3); subcutaneous gas depots are usually associated with extensive pathological changes in contiguous tissues (4,5); and even a method equating the gas tensions of lymph to those of interstitial fluid results in variable values (6,7). With these difficulties, it has, for practical purposes, been assumed that the respiratory gas tensions of the draining venous blood are reasonable estimates of the tissue gas tensions; however, comparisons of values for tissue and venous blood gas tensions in a single organ in order to validate this assumption have not been performed.…”