Analysis of the time course of renal vascular and excretory responses to electrical stimulation of the renal efferent nerves

In this study we analyse the beat-by-beat dynamics of mean renal vascular resistance (MRVR) and water excretion, to graded levels of electrical stimulation of the renal efferent nerves in anesthetised sinoaortic dener-vated cats. Data is presented which demonstrates that changes in RVR are mediated via two independent mechanisms having different temporal dynamics and possibly acting at different anatomical locations. Mathematical relationships are derived which suggest that neural control of water handling can operate independently of neural control of renal vascular resistance.