Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Does impaired diffusion for oxygen exist in diseased lungs?

W A Briscoe

    Bulletin Europeen De Physiopathologie Respiratoire
    |September 1, 1979
    PubMed
    Summary
    This summary is machine-generated.

    Related Concept Videos

    You might also read

    Related Articles

    Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

    Sort by
    Same author

    Intrapulmonary mixing of helium in normal and emphysematous subjects.

    Clinical science·2014
    Same author

    Acute respiratory failure in scoliosis or kyphosis: prolonged survival and treatment.

    The American journal of medicine·1982
    Same author

    Diffusing capacity in idiopathic scoliosis and its interpretation regarding alveolar development.

    The American review of respiratory disease·1982
    Same author

    Relief of hypoxia-related bronchoconstriction by breathing 30 per cent oxygen.

    The American review of respiratory disease·1981
    Same author

    Oxygen concentration from room air. A new source for oxygen therapy in the home.

    JAMA·1979
    Same author

    alpha-1-antitrypsin and disease.

    The Mount Sinai journal of medicine, New York·1977

    Impaired lung diffusion, or alveolar-capillary block, is debated. New analysis suggests previous methods using inert gases in California overlooked that diffusion varies between lung alveoli, invalidating their conclusions.

    Area of Science:

    • Pulmonary Physiology
    • Respiratory Medicine
    • Gas Exchange Dynamics

    Background:

    • The concept of alveolar-capillary block, representing impaired lung diffusion, has been historically debated.
    • Key studies by Riley and Cournand, using arterial oxygen measurements, supported the existence of diffusion impairment in diseased lungs.
    • Contrasting research, primarily from California, attributed impaired gas transfer to ventilation-perfusion mismatches, based on inert gas measurements.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To re-evaluate the historical debate on impaired lung diffusion (alveolar-capillary block).
    • To critically assess the methodologies used in studies supporting or refuting diffusion impairment.
    • To highlight a fundamental flaw in the inert gas method when applied to heterogeneous lung conditions.

    Main Methods:

    Related Experiment Videos

    • Historical analysis of seminal publications on lung diffusion and alveolar-capillary block.
    • Critique of methodologies, specifically comparing arterial oxygen tension measurements with inert gas concentration measurements.
    • Examination of the underlying assumptions of the inert gas method in the context of distributed physiological parameters.

    Main Results:

    • The existence of impaired diffusion in diseased lungs was initially supported by studies measuring arterial oxygen.
    • Research from California, using inert gas measurements, concluded diffusion was not impaired, attributing issues to ventilation-perfusion.
    • This analysis reveals that the California group overlooked the distributed nature of diffusion, ventilation, and perfusion across lung alveoli.

    Conclusions:

    • The assumption that inert gases reach equilibrium in all pulmonary capillaries is invalidated by distributed diffusion impairment.
    • The inert gas method's basic assumption is flawed when diffusion varies significantly between alveoli in diseased lungs.
    • The historical conclusion of impaired diffusion (alveolar-capillary block) in certain lung diseases remains valid, contrary to some interpretations of inert gas studies.