Distribution of dead space volume in the human lung

The first four breaths from a multi-breath nitrogen wash-out have been analysed in 20 normal subjects by differentiation and data smoothing of phase II of the expired concentrations of nitrogen and carbon dioxide. This procedure yields a distribution curve which is skewed to the right, the mode of which represents the usual value of dead space. The minimum and maximum values were found by excluding 2.5% of data points at each end of the distribution. The values of minimum, mode and maximum in men were 67.6, 147 and 300 ml. For women the values were 55.4, 109 and 235 ml. It is suggested that this distribution reflects the asymmetrical nature of the bronchial tree and comparison with anatomical data suggests that anatomy is the principal determinant of the distribution of dead space. The contribution made by the spread of the stationary interface within individual bronchioles is evident but small.