THE ROLE OF HISTAMINE IN URETERAL FUNCTION

¹ Departments of Pharmacology, Surgery (Division of Urology) and Anatomy, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York

Under properly controlled conditions of perfusion and pressure in vitro, histamine has a consistently stimulatory effect on canine ureteral segments. Inability of some investigators to obtain such stimulation may be ascribed to the determining role which mechanical factors play in influencing sensitivity and the type of response to histamine.

The effects of histamine appear to be most readily interpreted as facilitation of the peristaltic reflex of the ureter by an action directly on the smooth muscle cells but not on the contractile mechanism itself. This, however, does not preclude the possibility that histamine plays a role in the normal function of the ureter.

The effects produced by histamine, under certain conditions, can be abolished by antihistamines in concentrations which do not inhibit spontaneous contractions.