Evaluation of variability in the cardiac output of dogs

Abstract

The cardiac output was calculated by the Fick principle on 245 adult dogs. The mean cardiac output was 2.36, and the range from 0.91 to 5.09 l/min. The cardiac output determined using venous blood from the right auricle was not significantly different from the mean of all determinations. The six groups of dogs, based on different source of arterial and venous blood differed from each other in unpredictable ways, suggesting that the physiological measurements taken between 60 and 90 minutes after anesthesia are subject to great variation, but that cardiac output was no more variable at this time than other physiological measurements made. The cardiac output of these anesthetized dogs was found to have a low correlation with body weight.