Does the brain influence somatic responses to noxious stimuli during isoflurane anesthesia?

Background: Recent evidence suggests that anesthetic action within the spinal cord is important in suppressing somatic responses to painful stimuli. Whether the brain influences this response is not clear. This study was designed to test the hypothesis that the brain affects anesthetic requirements.

Splanchnic release of potassium after hemorrhage and succinylcholine in rabbits.

Recent clinical reports document that hyperkalemia may occur after succinylcholine (SCh) administration in hemorrhagic, acidotic humans. Hemorrhagic, acidotic rabbits are a useful model for study of this phenomenon because of profound hyperkalemia after SCh. To determine the etiology of this hyperkalemia, we anesthetized rabbits (n = 5, Group H) with halothane/N2O, and after endotracheal intubation, placed catheters in the femoral artery, femoral vein (FV), and inferior vena cava (IVC), the latter at or above the hepatic veins.