Fundamental Difference in the Reactivity of the Blood Vessels in Skin Compared with those in Muscle

Blood flow was measured with the electromagnetic flowmeter in the saphenous artery bed (cutaneous) and in the distal femoral and popliteal beds (muscle). The effects of ischemia and of intra-arterial injection with methacholine, l-epinephrine and l-norepinephrine were studied before and again after each injection of progressively increased doses of antiadrenergic drugs. These studies indicate a fundamental difference between the reactivity of cutaneous and muscular vascular beds.