Intracellular pH and buffering power of rat brain.

ROOS, ALBERT. Intracellular PH and buffering power of rat brain. Am. J. Physiol. 22 l(1) : 176-l 8 1. 1971 .-Intracellular pH and bicarbonate concentration and cortical CO2 concentration were derived from the distribution of 5,5-dimethyloxazolidine-2,4dione (DMO) between arterial plasma water and brain water in 106 rats anesthetized with pentobarbital and 24 rats anesthetized with nitrous oxide-oxygen. Arterial CO2 tensions ranged between 8.5 and 183 mm Hg. Regression equations were derived to express the relations between the measured or derived cerebral acid-base parameters, and arterial or cerebral tissue CO2 tension. Excellent agreement was found with DMO measurements on the cat brain previously published from our laboratory. The type of anesthesia had no effect on acid-base relations. Cerebral CO2 content derived from DMO distribution agreed closely over a wide range of CO2 tensions with direct CO2 measurements made by previous workers.