Succinic dehydrogenase and cytochrome oxidase in arterial, venous and other smooth muscle

Abstract Arterial smooth muscle, among five species examined, contains no histochemically detectable succinic dehydrogenase or cytochrome oxidase with the techniques employed. In some species, smooth muscle in veins and ureter reacts, while that in small intestine and urinary bladder stains in all species. It is therefore, concluded that the known preference of arterial smooth muscle for anaerobic metabolism is not an inherent property of all smooth muscle (viz., positive reaction in gut and bladder), nor is it necessarily a feature of vessels in contact with blood (viz., positive reaction in some veins).