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J Appl Physiol (October 11, 2002). doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00700.2002
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Articles in PresS, published online ahead of print October 11, 2002
J Appl Physiol, 10.1152/jap.00700.2002
Submitted on July 29, 2002
Accepted on September 17, 2002

Perfusion Heterogeneity in Rat Lungs Assessed from the Distribution of 4 µm Diameter Latex Particles

Robert L Conhaim1*, Kal E Watson1, Dennis M Heisey1, Glen E Leverson1, and Bruce A Harms1

1 Department of Surgery, University of Wisconsin Medical School, Madison, Wisconsin, USA

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: rconhaim{at}facstaff.wisc.edu.

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 if 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 (non-random 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 non-random at tissue volumes greater than that of an alveolus.




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