AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF THE IMMEDIATE HEMODYNAMIC ADJUSTMENTS TO ACUTE ARTERIOVENOUS FISTULAE OF VARIOUS SIZES 1

Abstract

In the past thirty years, numerous observations have been made on the hemodynamic effects of arteriovenous fistulae. Arteriovenous fistulae of variable size and location have been studied in patients as well as in animals. Such studies have consisted a) in observing the effect of suddenly opening and closing a fistula in acute experiments, b) in studying the effects of suddenly closing and opening a fistula in an animal or a patient who had had such a fistula for a relatively long time, and c) in recording the effect of complete surgical eradication of a long-standing fistula. While some agreement has been reached on many points, there persists some controversy about most of them (1). It is now generally agreed that an