Bopp, Christopher Michael2015-11-192015-11-192015-12-01http://hdl.handle.net/2097/20543The primary aim of this dissertation was to describe the changes in microvascular hematocrit, as total[hemoglobin+myoglobin] (T[Hb+Mb] measured with near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), during post-occlusive reactive hyperemia (PORH). Mechanisms of reactive hyperemia within skeletal muscle were also explored. The investigation detailed in Chapter 2 of this dissertation found that the differing time courses of the kinetic responses of both oxy- and deoxy[Hb+Mb], are related to changes in T[Hb+Mb]. We also determined that adipose tissue thickness had no effect on a purely temporal analysis of NIRS data. In Chapter 3 we observed that brachial artery reactive hyperemia preceded changes in T[Hb+Mb] during reactive hyperemia. Assuming that myoglobin remained constant, we posited that changes in T[Hb+Mb] must reflect alterations in red blood cell concentration in the microvasculature, i.e., microvascular hematocrit. In Chapter 4 comparisons were made between brachial artery blood flow, cutaneous and skeletal muscle flux and T[Hb+Mb]. The conduit artery response was faster than the microvascular responses in all tissues. Within skeletal muscle, time to peak and the time constant for the on-kinetics were faster in T[Hb+Mb] compoared with intramuscular flux as measured with intramuscular laser-Doppler. We observed no differences in temporal responses between cutaneous and intramuscular measures and suggested that in a purely temporal analysis the cutaneous microvasculature could serve as an analog for the skeletal muscle microvasculature. Finally, in Chapter 5 we found that prostaglandin inhibition with ibuprofen altered the initial T[Hb+Mb] response during PORH without impacting cutaneous flux or brachial artery blood flow. Chapter 5 also discussed that the addition of a wrist cuff to our standard instrumentation prevented the accumulation of T[Hb+Mb] during the occlusion period.en-US© the author. This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/Near-infrared spectroscopyMicrovascularcutaneousskeletal muscleprostaglandinsDissertationPhysiology (0719)