Resistography

an experimental physiological method of measuring the resistance of an organ’s vessels to blood flow. In resistography blood is supplied to the organ being tested by a resistograph, which is a perfusion pump that provides a constant flow of arterial blood, regardless of fluctuations in the general arterial pressure.

Resistography measures an animal’s general arterial pressure and its resistogram, which is the lateral pressure of the blood in the tube through which blood is supplied from the pump to the organ’s artery. All fluctuations in perfusion pressure that are recorded on a resistogram are directly proportional to the degree of contraction, or resistance, of an organ’s vessels. The magnitude of vascular reactions to any influence is expressed as the percentage of change in perfusion pressure in relation to the initial pressure level.