Sensory and neuromotor mechanisms of the veins

Abstract

The role that veins play in the body is becoming more important every day. A study of the influence that venous filling has upon the rate of the heart brought about the discovery of the Bainbridge reflex. To study venous pressure was not the main purpose of the investigation. Similarly, many of the reports of the reactions of veins are secondary observations. Most investigators of the blood vascular system have not studied venous responses. To make direct observations on small veins is difficult. To establish a precise difference between capillaries and small arterial and venous vessels is even more difficult. This difficulty is reflected somewhat in the number of papers which deal directly with veins. Veins may effect or be affected by factors at present unknown. Development of new physiological methods along with improvement of present techniques will open up this unexplored field.