Factors influencing lung density in experimental models: results of studies using CT densitometry

Lung density measurements using computed tomography have been made in mice, rats, and pure-bred beagles and mongrel dogs. Density was found to be dependent on a number of factors including the location of the area scanned, and the age and species of the animal. Lung density was found to decrease by approximately 40% from initial values in a group of rats scanned at intervals between 30 and 800 days old. Age-related density changes were not seen for the lungs of mice or dogs; however measurements were not made over a prolonged period. A gradient of increasing density from the base to apex of the lung was seen for 30 and 175-day-old rats (scanned in the prone position) while an apex to base density gradient was seen for both types of dog studied (scanned in the supine position). In none of the species studied was there a systematic difference in density of the right and left lungs. Differences in average lung density between the mice, rats and dogs reported here are consistent with the relationship between lung morphology, metabolic rate and body size which obtains for a range of mammalian species.