THE EFFECT OF ADRENALINE, TOGETHER WITH ACUTE ANOXIA, ON THE HEART GLYCOGEN

¹ Department of Physiology, Pharmacology, and Biochemistry, University College, London

1. In the heart-lung or isolated heart-oxygenator preparations, rapid anoxia produced by administration of cyanide or by ventilation with N₂/CO₂ causes only a small disappearance of the heart glycogen.

2. The presence of adrenaline during anoxia results in a much more rapid breakdown of glycogen (most pronounced with cyanide), and which is more complete the longer the heart survives.

3. The depletion of glycogen caused by adrenaline and anoxia together is more rapid than that caused by adrenaline alone, although anoxia alone has, during such short times, little effect on glycogen breakdown.

The costs of the investigation were defrayed by grants made to C. L. E. from the Central Research Fund of the University of London, and to J. Y. B. by the Government Grants Committee of the Royal Society, to whom the authors are indebted.