2019 journal article

A DESCRIPTIONOFARTERIAL BLOODPRESSUREMEASUREMENT IN TWO SPECIES OF FLYING FOXES (PTEROPUS VAMPYRUS AND PTEROPUS HYPOMELANUS)

JOURNAL OF ZOO AND WILDLIFE MEDICINE, 50(3), 665–671.

By: B. Gatson*, V. Paranjape *, J. Wellehan* & K. Bailey n

co-author countries: United States of America πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ
author keywords: Arterial blood pressure; bat; Chiroptera; flying fox; Pteropus hypomelanus; Pteropus vampyrus
MeSH headings : Animals; Arterial Pressure / physiology; Blood Pressure Determination / methods; Blood Pressure Determination / veterinary; Chiroptera / physiology; Species Specificity
Source: Web Of Science
Added: October 14, 2019

Blood pressure assessment is valuable during management of chronic conditions with increased risk of developing hypertension and as a standard practice for anesthetic monitoring. Normal arterial blood pressure values have not been well described in megachiropteran species. Following anesthetic induction and maintenance with isoflurane in oxygen, arterial blood pressure was obtained from the posterior tibial artery of eight large flying foxes (Pteropus vampyrus) and six variable flying foxes (Pteropus hypomelanus), two with structural cardiac disease and four in good clinically health. Normal values reported as a median with interquartile range for systolic, diastolic, and mean (MAP) arterial pressures for P. vampyrus were 101 (94, 107), 69 (57, 80), and 86 (75, 93), respectively. Normal MAP for clinically healthy P. hypomelanus was 86 (67, 93). Placement of P. hypomelanus in a vertical head-down position did not alter blood pressure in clinically healthy bats, but significantly increased MAP in two bats with structural cardiac disease. Arterial catheterization of both the posterior tibial and median arteries in these species was easily performed without major complication.