A TRANSMURAL POTENTIAL DIFFERENCE in the normal, intact aortic wall with the intima negative in respect to the adventitia has been demonstrated in vivo by Sawyer et al.1-3 They further indicated that this polarity is reversed after trauma to the vessel and noted a correlation between the development of a positive charge on the intima and an increased incidence of thrombosis. Thus, with the known cataphoresis in the electrophoretic cell of blood cells including platelets and blood proteins, all of which are electronegative, a bioelectric influence on thrombosis was postulated. Other studies have upheld this theory, showing an ability of externally applied electrical field potential to influence intravascular thrombosis.3-5
If the demonstrated potential difference were intrinsic to the vessel wall it follows that turning the vessel inside out should influence thrombus formation. Experiments were designed, therefore, to investigate such a preparation and, subsequently, to note the influence of