Basic Res Cardio191:155 - 178 (1996) 9 Steinkopff Verlag 1996 S. G. Sakka D. R. Wallbridge G. Heusch Glossary: Methods for the measurement of coronary blood flow and myocardial perfusion Received: 12 July 1995 Returned for revision: 9 August 1995 Revision received: 11 October 1995 Accepted: 24 October 1995 1. Introduction Blood supply to the heart can be measured either as coro- nary blood flow (CBF) (volume per time) at a single point within the coronary vasculature or as regional myocardial blood flow (RMBF) which may be defined as the inte- grated perfusion of a given myocardial region (blood flow per tissue mass per time). For technical reasons, measure- ment of CBF is only possible in coronary vessels of a cer- tain size, with most applications to great epicardial coro- nary arteries. The principal advantage of CBF measure- ments is high temporal resolution, and this permits con- tinuous recording of phasic flow signals. In contrast, mea- surement of RMBF is more important in the assessment Professor Julien I. E. Hoffman, San Francisco, USA, served as guest editor for this manuscript and was responsible for all editorial deci- sions, including the selection of reviewers. This policy applies to all manuscripts with authors from the editor's institution. Dr. Wallbridge is supported by a British Heart Foundation Inter- national Research Fellowship. S. G. Sakka. D. R. Wallbridge - Prof. Dr. G. Heusch ([N) Department of Pathophysiology Centre of Internal Medicine University of Essen Medical School Universit~itsklinikum Essen HufelandstraBe 55 45122 Essen, FRG of myocardial ischaemia, which in the context of coronary heart disease is a regional phenomenon. The severity of myocardial ischaemia is not necessarily characterised by the diminished anterograde CBF through a stenosis, since collateral blood flow from adjacent myocardium may con- tribute to the perfusion of the ischaemic area. Thus, deter- mination of RMBF, rather than CBF, is essential for the estimation of the severity of ischaemia. This paper summarises experimental and clinical techniques used for the measurement of CBF and RMBE Both historical and current techniques wilt be reviewed. An overview is provided in the following simplified table: A. B. Historical techniques: 2.1 Timed blood collection 2.2 Pitot flowmeter 2.3 Orifice flowmeter 2.4 Bristle and pendulum flowmeter 2.5 Rotameter 2.6 Bubble flowmeter 2.7 Rein's "Thermostromuhr" 2.8 Hensel's thermal probe Modern techniques: I. Coronary blood flow 3.1.1 Electromagnetic flowmeter 3.1.2 Ultrasonic transit time flowmeter 3.1.3 Ultrasound Doppler flowmeter 3.1.4 Magnetic resonance angiography 3.1.5 Densitometry 3.1.6 Thermodilution II. Regional myocardial blood flow 3.2.1 Microspheres 3.2.2 Indicator dilution techniques 3.2.3 Transillumination 3.2.4 Laser Doppler flowmeter For reference purposes and more detailed information see Tables c~ 1-3.