Cardiopulmonary manifestations with high O₂ tensions at atmospheric pressure

¹ Department of Physiology, Seton Hall College of Medicine and Dentistry, Medical Center, Jersey City, New Jersey

Dogs inhaled 95–98% oxygen at atmospheric pressures until they succumbed of respiratory failure after an average of 54.6 hr. At autopsy the lungs were dark red, hemorrhagic, edematous, and congested. Blood gas contents and cardiovascular parameters were maintained essentially normal until approximately 2–3 hr before death. Tidal volume increased, respiratory rate slowed, and intrapleural pressures changed markedly. Pulmonary compliance decreased late in exposure, presumably due to increased turgor of the lungs. Maintenance of normal left atrial pressures was judged to show that left ventricular function was not responsible for the pulmonary edema and congestion.

Submitted on January 14, 1963