Interpretation of new techniques used in the determination of pulmonary function in rodents

Many techniques have now been developed to measure pulmonary function in small laboratory animals. Most of these techniques are adaptations of standard procedures applied to human patients in the assessment of chronic lung disease. The use of these procedures in small animals is thought to measure properties of static and dynamic lung function analogous to those of man, and thereby, may be useful in the characterization of experimental lung disease. The noninvasiveness and repeatability of lung function tests provide a diverse tool for the study of progressive pulmonary dysfunction resulting from chronic toxicant insult. When compared to other standard measures of lung injury, such as histopathology, pulmonary function tests appear to have comparable sensitivity; however, this appears to be toxicant dependent. Used best as adjuncts to other bioassay procedures, function tests can complete the overall assessment of toxicant impact by not only indicating pulmonary debility, but often characterizing the nature and site of the functional lesion.