Experimental Unilateral Renal Artery Constriction in the Dog

Chronic hypertension caused by unilateral constriction of the renal artery in the presence of the opposite untouched kidney can be produced in the dog by progressive plication of the renal artery over a period of several hours. Twenty-three female dogs were studied. Mean arterial blood pressure was measured in the unanesthetized recumbent dog by direct puncture of the femoral artery. Reproducible control blood pressure readings were obtained only after daily training of the animals for at least 2 months. Mean arterial blood pressure for the whole group of animals was 98.25 ± 7.45 (SD) mm Hg prior to constriction. Three months after constriction, the mean arterial blood pressure of the group of dogs with a 50-63% reduction in renal blood flow was 132.4 ± 5.51 (SD) mm Hg ( P < 0.001); for the group with a 78-86% reduction in renal blood flow it was 144.68 ± 10.68 (SD) mm Hg ( P < 0.001). Six dogs from these two groups underwent ipsilateral nephrectomies 4-16 months after constriction, and their elevated arterial blood pressures returned to preconstriction normal values. It was concluded that this type of experimental hypertension in the dog is renal dependent in both the acute and the chronic stages.