Differences in the responses of the canine basilar and dorsal pedal artery to phenylephrine, clonidine and serotonin

Abstract

The effects of phenylephrine, clonidine and serotonin were studied on isolated preparations of the canine basilar and dorsal pedal artery. Differences were mainly observed in the responses of the two types of arterial preparations to clonidine and phenylephrine. While in the dorsal pedal artery, alpha 1- and alpha 2-receptors were involved in the response to alpha-agonists, in the basilar artery contractions induced by alpha 2-receptor stimulation prevailed. Moreover, in the latter artery the contractile responses induced by each of the agonists used were more dependent on the presence of extracellular calcium than those in the dorsal pedal artery.