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Intravital microscopic observations of 15-µm microspheres lodging in the pulmonary microcirculation

Departments of ¹Medicine and ²Physiology and Biophysics, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington; and Departments of ³Anesthesiology, ⁴Cellular and Integrative Physiology, and ⁵Pediatrics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana

Submitted 25 October 2004 ; accepted in final form 20 January 2005

Vascular infusions of 15-µm-diameter microspheres are used to study pulmonary blood flow distribution. The sites of microsphere lodging and their effects on microvascular perfusion are debated but unknown. Using intravital microscopy of the subpleural surface of rat lungs, we directly observed deposition of fluorescent microspheres. In a pump-perfused lung model, 0.5 million microspheres were infused over 30 s into the pulmonary artery of seven rats. Microsphere lodging was analyzed for the location in the microvasculature and the effect on local flow after lodging. On average, we observed 3.2 microspheres per 160 alveolar facets. The microspheres always entered the arterioles as singlets and lodged at the inlets to capillaries, either in alveolar corner vessels or small arterioles. In all cases, blood flow continued either around the microspheres or into the capillaries via adjacent pathways. We conclude that 15-µm-diameter microspheres, in doses in excess of those used in typical studies, have no significant impact on pulmonary capillary blood flow distribution.

rats; blood flow

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