Lung mechanics and a simultaneous comparison of alveolar, pleural and peritoneal phagocytic cells lavaged from fasted infection-free oxygen toxic rats.

seen in exposures to either pollutant alone. Thus, the screening test may be useful in detecting synergistic effects of combined pollutants. A swiunary of the lavage fluid profiles found with each type of lung injury is shown in Table 2. The use of lung washings to detect lung injury shows a potential as a rapid screening tool to assay for acute inflammatory response in the lungs of experimental animals. Such a screen can be used to rank airborne atmospheric pollutants according to their in vivo cytotoxicity and to choose those that require in-depth study. Analysis of lavage fluid could also be used to detect developing chronic pulmonary pathology if sensitive and specific indicators can be determined.