Erythropoiesis in Carotid Body Resected Cats

It has been reported that removal of carotid bodies in cats results in a brief, profuse reticulocytosis followed by depression to below-normal levels of reticulocytes and a progressively severe anemia. Injection of cat carotid body extract was reported to increase erythrocyte ⁵⁹Fe incorporation in polycythemic rats. Other studies could find no hematological abnormality in humans after bilateral carotid body resection. We reexamined the effect of carotid body resection in the cat with serial bone marrow aspirations, hematocrit determination, and reticulocyte determination. T_1/2 for plasma ⁵⁹Fe removal, erythrocyte ⁵⁹Fe incorporation, and ⁵¹Cr lifespan determinations were performed on five operated and three control cats. No significant differences were found. We conclude that the carotid body has no direct effect on erythropoiesis and that the anemia reported in a prior study was secondary to sepsis resulting from an indwelling femoral vein catheter.