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Updated: May 1, 2026

Quantifying Single Microvessel Permeability in Isolated Blood-perfused Rat Lung Preparation
Published on: June 30, 2014
Relationship between quantitative CT of pulmonary small vessels and pulmonary perfusion
Shin Matsuoka1, Tsuneo Yamashiro, Shoichiro Matsushita
11 All authors: Department of Radiology, St. Marianna University School of Medicine, 2-16-1 Sugao, Miyamae-Ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa, 216-8511, Japan.
Objective:
The relationship between morphologic alterations of pulmonary small vessels and pulmonary perfusion has not been clarified. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the cross-sectional area (CSA) of pulmonary small vessels alterations measured on CT images and pulmonary perfusion on lung perfusion scintigraphy.
Materials And Methods:
This study comprised 46 subjects who underwent both CT and lung perfusion scintigraphy. We measured CSA of pulmonary small vessels less than 5 mm(2) and 5-10 mm(2) using CT images and obtained the percentage of the right lung to whole lung in each CSA group (CSA<5,R/W and CSA5-10,R/W, respectively). Using (99m)Tc-macroaggregated albumin (MAA) lung perfusion scintigraphy, we obtained right and total lung counts and calculated the percentage of the right to whole-lung counts (MAAR/W). Those CT and scintigraphy measurements were also calculated separately each in right upper, right lower, left upper, and left lower zones. The correlations of CSA<5,R/W and CSA5-10,R/W with MAAR/W, the correlation between the percentage of each lung zone to whole-lung CSA<5 and the percentage of each corresponding lung zone to whole-lung MAA were evaluated.
Results:
The mean CSA<5,R/W was 58.1% ± 11.2%, and the mean MAAR/W was 59.3% ± 17.9%. CSA<5,R/W had a significant correlation with MAAR/W (ρ = 0.865, p < 0.0001), whereas significant correlation was found but was relatively weak between CSA5-10,R/W and MAAR/W (ρ = 0.512, p = 0.0003). The percentage of each lung zone to whole-lung CSA<5 had significant correlations with the percentage of each corresponding lung zone to whole-lung MAA.
Conclusion:
Pulmonary small vessels alteration, as measured by CSA on CT images, significantly correlated with pulmonary perfusion.
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