Journal of Applied Physiology
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J Appl Physiol 94: 420-428, 2003. First published October 11, 2002; doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00700.2002
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Vol. 94, Issue 2, 420-428, February 2003

Perfusion heterogeneity in rat lungs assessed from the distribution of 4-µm-diameter latex particles

Robert L. Conhaim, Kal E. Watson, Dennis M. Heisey, Glen E. Leverson, and Bruce A. Harms

Department of Surgery, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison 53792-7375; and The William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, Madison, Wisconsin 53705-2286

Pulmonary vascular perfusion has been shown to follow a fractal distribution down to a resolution of 0.5 cm3 (5E11 µm3). We wanted to know whether this distribution continued down to tissue volumes equivalent to that of an alveolus (2E5 µm3). To investigate this, we used confocal microscopy to analyze the spatial distribution of 4-µm-diameter fluorescent latex particles trapped within rat lung microvessels. Particle distributions were analyzed in tissue volumes that ranged from 1.7E2 to 2.8E8 µm3. The analysis resulted in fractal plots that consisted of two slopes. The left slope, encompassing tissue volumes less than 7E5 µm3, had a fractal dimension of 1.50 ± 0.03 (random distribution). The right slope, encompassing tissue volumes greater than 7E5 µm3, had a fractal dimension of 1.29 ± 0.04 (nonrandom distribution). The break point at 7E5 µm3 corresponds closely to a tissue volume equivalent to that of one alveolus. We conclude that perfusion distribution is random at tissue volumes less than that of an alveolus and nonrandom at tissue volumes greater than that of an alveolus.

alveolar perfusion; fluorescent microspheres; fractal analysis; pulmonary blood flow


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