Why use a Doppler? One of the objectives of anesthesia is to provide adequate blood flow to tissue. One way to assess blood flow is to measure blood pressure (ideally mean blood pressure) and heart rate. Most of the time, in small animal anesthesia, blood pressure is measured non-invasively. It is, however, possible to measure … [Continue Reading]

Why use an ECG? Electrical activity of cardiac cells is responsible for the initiation of every heartbeat. Electrical activity is essential for the heart but is not correlated with the efficiency of each beat. The electrical activity can be normal, but the beat grossly inefficient. Any disturbances of the electrical activity may affect the efficiency of … [Continue Reading]

Why use a capnograph? Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a metabolic by-product of cells. It is transported by the blood to the lungs, where it is eliminated. Therefore, measuring expired CO2 assesses metabolism, the cardiovascular system, and respiratory system. Additionally, as the anesthesia circuit role is to prevent the rebreathing of CO2, measuring inspired CO2 also … [Continue Reading]

Why use a pulse oximeter? Oxygen (O2) is transported from the lungs to the cells by the blood. O2 is either fixed to hemoglobin or free in the blood. However, the amount of free O2 in the blood is minimal compared to O2 fixed to hemoglobin, and free O2 does not participate significantly to the … [Continue Reading]