The rate of oxygen loss from mesenteric arterioles is not unusually high

Most physiologists would probably agree that delivery of oxygen to tissues is the single most important function of the cardiovascular system. And, most would assign this task to the capillaries. Surprisingly however, some studies have suggested a major role for arterioles instead. In our latest podcast Associate Editor W. Gil Wier interviews senior author Roland Pittman (Virginia Commonwealth University) and leading expert David Poole (Kansas State University) about the work of Golub et al, which provides some compelling new data on the issue, and also a reminder about the importance of critical evaluation of methodology.

 

Aleksander S. Golub, Bjorn K. Song, and Roland N. Pittman. The rate of oxygen loss from mesenteric arterioles is not unusually high Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, published online ahead of print June 17, 2011, doi:10.1152/ajpheart.00353.2011.