Gas exchange in the parabronchial lung of birds: experiments in unidirectionally ventilated ducks

Pulmonary exchange of O2 and CO2 was measured in unidirectionally ventilated ducks in an attempt to determine lung O2 diffusing capacity, DO2. Perfusion shunt (= venous admixture) was estimated from O2 exchange in hyperoxia, and the ventilation shunt (ventilation of non-perfused parallel lung units) was estimated from exchange of the highly soluble inert gas, chloroform. Differences in the ventilation/perfusion ratio of parallel lung units were assessed from measurement of CO2 exchange using a parallel two-compartment model. DO2 values were calculated accounting for ventilation shunt, perfusion shunt, and inhomogeneity. Perfusion shunt averaged 2.7% and ventilation shunt, 9.4%. The ventilation/perfusion ratio in the two compartments differed on the average by a factor of 2.6. The uncorrected values of DO2, not accounting for lung inhomogeneities, progressively declined with increasing inspired PO2, but this dependence was less pronounced after correcting for lung inhomogeneities. The corrected value of DO2 averaged 100 mumol . min-1 . torr-1 for ducks of 1.8 kg mean body weight. DO2 did not differ when nitrogen was replaced by helium in the ventilatory gas indicating that diffusion within the air capillaries did not contribute a significant resistance to O2 uptake. The results suggest that neither functional inhomogeneities nor diffusion between lung gas and blood limit O2 uptake of the resting duck. Under conditions of elevated metabolism, however, these parameters may become rate-limiting for O2 supply.