Adaptative processes in the albino rat raised under hypoxia at simulated altitude
Quatrini, U.; Benigno, A.; Orlando, F.
Revue Canadienne de Biologie 40(2): 159-166
1981
ISSN/ISBN: 0035-0915 PMID: 7280300 Document Number: 171783
Wistar albino rats were raised from birth in a simulated altitude of .apprx. 6000 m (barometric pressure 370 mm Hg) for a period of .apprx. 50 days. Some were killed after losing consciousness upon exposure to acute hypoxia. The other groups were killed without being first subjected to acute hypoxia. Control groups of the same stock were raised for a corresponding period of time in a normal atmosphere at sea level and killed like the preceding. There were no significant variations in tolerance to acute hypoxia in the various groups. Animals raised in a simulated altitude displayed an increase in the 2,3-DPG [2,3-diphosphoglycerate] content in the red blood cells, Hb concentration and the number of erythrocytes per cubic millimeter of blood. Animals raised in a simulated altitude also displayed a displacement of the acid-base balance of blood towards the acid side. This was even more accentuated in the group subjected to acute hypoxia. The weight curve showed that animals raised in a simulated altitude presented a slower body growth compared to the control group.