COMPARATIVE DILATOR EFFECT OF VERAPAMIL AND SODIUM-NITROPRUSSIDE IN FOREARM ARTERIAL BED AND DORSAL HAND VEINS IN MAN - FUNCTIONAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN VASCULAR SMOOTH-MUSCLE IN ARTERIOLES AND VEINS

Summary: Verapamil and sodium nitroprusside induce a dose dependent dilatation in the forearm arterial bed and preconstricted dorsal hand vein in man. Verapamil is about twenty times more effective in dilating arterioles than veins; sodium nitroprusside is about ten times more effective in veins than arterioles. These differences can be related to functional differences between the two types of vessel.