Changes in adenosine nucleotides in the heart tissue of rats following different types of death

Abstract

Forty-eight Sprague-Dawley rats were killed by cervical dislocation, electric shock and drowning to investigate the correlations between types of death and levels of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and adenosine monophosphate (AMP) in heart tissue after death. The hearts were taken out after death and ATP, ADP and AMP levels in the heart muscle were measured.