The Pulsatile Nature of the Pulmonary Capillary Blood

The pulsatile nature of the pulmonary capillary blood flow.

The nature of the pulmonary capillary blood flow is fundamental for the understanding both of pulmonary hemodynamics and of respiratory gas exchange. Direct examinations of the surface of the lung in the cat, rabbit, dog and rat (1-5) have indicated that pulmonary capillary blood flow is basically non-pulsatile. On the other hand, experimental studies by Lee and DuBois (6), using the body pleth...

Pulmonary capillaries are recruited during pulsatile flow.

Capillaries recruit when pulmonary arterial pressure rises. The duration of increased pressure imposed in such experiments is usually on the order of minutes, although recent work shows that the recruitment response can occur in <4 s. In the present study, we investigate whether the brief pressure rise during cardiac systole can also cause recruitment and whether the recruitment is maintained d...

Propagation of blood flow pulse in the normal human pulmonary arterial system. Analysis of the pulsatile capillary flow.

We studied a number of dynamic events associated with the pulsatile flow of blood in the pulmonary arterial system of six healthy men in the supine position. We used the nitrous oxide-body plethysmograph method to record the pulmonary capillary blood flow pulse and the phonocardiogram to determine the time of opening and closing of the pulmonary valve. The pattern of right ventricular ejection ...

Pulmonary Capillary Leak Syndrome

A model of perfusion of the healthy human lung

This study presents a model that simulates the pulmonary capillary perfusion. The model describes the lungs as divided into horizontal layers and includes: capillary geometry; capillary wall elasticity; pressure at the pulmonary artery; blood viscosity; the effect of the chest wall; the change in lung height and hydrostatic effects of the lung tissue and of the blood during breathing. The model...