The Effect of Acute Arteriovenous Fistula on Renal Functions 1

was determined from the analysis of arterial and mixed venous bloods. The arterial blood was obtained from the right brachial artery. The mixed venous blood was withdrawn from the right ventricle through a catheter introduced via the right jugular vein into the right ventricle under fluoroscopic control. Glass cannulae were tied in the central end of the right common carotid artery and the central end of the right femoral vein; these two cannulae were connected by a rubber or polyvinyl tube previously filled with isotonic sodium chloride solution and closed by a screw clamp. A similar communication was established between the central end of the right femoral artery and the central end of the left femoral vein. In 5 of the 10 experiments, a catheter connected to a water manometer was introduced via the left femoral vein into the inferior vena cava up to the level of the renal veins in order to measure the changes in venous pressure at this site. Before being anesthetized, the animals were given orally 0.14 to 0.29 grams of sodium chloride per kilogram of weight to insure adequate urinary excretion of sodium and chloride during the experiment. While the operative procedures were being carried out, priming doses of 1.5 grams of creatinine and 0.07 grams of sodium para-amino