Vascular perfused rat phrenic nerve-hemidiaphragm. A model system for studying the physiological and neurochemical aspects of neuromuscular transmission

A model system has been developed for studying the release of endogenous acetylcholine from the vascular perfused phrenic nerve-hemidiaphragm of the rat. A method is described for cannulating the diaphragmatic vein. This cannulated preparation is placed in a specially designed Plexiglass chamber. The small volume of perfusion necessary to maintain the preparation facilitates the microanalysis of released endogenous or exogenous compounds. Further, the perfusion system increases the viability and stability of the preparation for at least 6 hours. Using a slightly modified chamber, intracelluar recordings can be made coincident with chemical measurements.