Effect of ketamine anaesthesia on enzyme activity in organs of dogs and cats.

The experiments were carried out on 15 dogs and 15 cats of both sexes. All animals received ketamine intramuscularly in doses of 10 mg/kg of body weight (dogs) and 25 mg/kg (cats). After the ketamine injection operations were performed following laparotomy and then the animals were killed by exsanguination 90 min after the injection of ketamine. For histoenzymatic examinations fragments of organs were taken (liver, kidneys, spleen, lungs and heart) and histochemical examinations were done for acid phosphatase (AP), alkaline phosphatase (AIP) and non-specific esterase (NE). It was found that ketamine anaesthesia in dogs and cats causes a slight reversible damage to the liver and kidneys and increases the activity or reticuloendothelial cells in the organism.