Metabolic Regulation of CBF

THE coronary vasculature is influenced by physical (arterial pressure, extravascular compression, he-matocrit), neural, and chemical factors, and al-though there is considerable interplay among these various factors, the predominant one is chemical. Furthermore, the chemical factors of greatest im-portance are those that take origin from the cardiac parenchyma! tissue and serve as a link between myocardial oxygen needs and supply. One of the principal contenders that can serve as a mediator of coronary blood flow (CBF) regulation in response to cardiac metabolic activity is the nucleoside, aden-osine (Berne, 1963). Criteria for Adenosine as a Mediator o