XENON CONCENTRATION CHANGES IN BRAIN AND OTHER BODY TISSUES OF THE DOG DURING INHALATION OF THE GAS

¹ Medical Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, Long Island, New York and the Department of Pharmacology and the Division of Anesthesiology, Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, State University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa

A study has been made of xenon concentration changes in brain and other body tissues of the dog during inhalation of the gas. The xenon concentrations of the thalamus, hypothalamus, caudate nucleus and medulla oblongata were similar and significantly higher than those of the cerebral parietal cortex at the two and six minute periods of inhalation. Whereas four of the five brain tissues studied were saturated within about six minutes, the cerebral parietal cortex may not be completely saturated even after a twenty minute period of inhalation of xenon at a constant tension. The xenon concentration of adrenal gland tissue rises rapidly and exceeds that of the brain tissues after about a ten minute period of inhalation. Kidney, liver and striated muscle absorb xenon more slowly than the other tissues studied.