Paired experiments were conducted with dogs dying in irreversible hemorrhagic shock and with normal controls. Examined under the electron microscope the liver cells from the experimental dogs were found to contain enlarged mitochondria characterized by a swollen matrix, rather than an altered double-membrane structure. Swollen, abnormal particles were also observed under phase contrast in whole-tissue blendorates and purified mitochondrial suspensions derived from such livers. Simultaneously, slices and purified suspensions prepared from those livers yielded higher than normal oxygen uptakes but normal P/O ratios and the purified mitochondria were found to contain normal proportions but excessive amounts of proteinous, nitrogenous and UV-absorbing material. It is suggested that liver mitochondria adjust to the stress imposed by the prolonged oligemia and hypoxia by enlarging and acquiring an extra complement of Krebs' cycle enzymes. The liver may thus be in a state of potential hyperactivity at a time when the animal as a whole is succumbing to the effects of irreversible hemorrhagic shock.
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Hift et al. (1961) studied this question.