Main Entry: Ke·ty method

Pronunciation: \ˈkēt-ē-\

Function: noun

: a method of determining coronary blood flow by measurement of nitrous oxide levels in the blood of a patient breathing nitrous oxide

Kety, Seymour Solomon (1915–2000), American physiologist. Kety's areas of research included brain circulation and metabolism, the dynamics of the exchange of substances between capillaries and tissues, and the biochemistry of mental states. His most important research concerned the measurement of blood flow and metabolism in the human brain by the use of low concentrations of nitrous oxide and the analysis of its concentration in arterial and cerebral venous blood during the short time in which it is equilibrating with the brain.