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Age‐related differences in the distortion of the sheep lung in response to localised pleural stress
Author(s) -
Grant Daniel A.,
Walker Adrian M.,
Fauchère JeanClaude
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
the journal of physiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.802
H-Index - 240
eISSN - 1469-7793
pISSN - 0022-3751
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-7793.2001.0153m.x
Subject(s) - lung , distortion (music) , stress (linguistics) , medicine , pathology , materials science , amplifier , linguistics , philosophy , optoelectronics , cmos
1 In order for diastolic filling to occur, the heart must displace the lung. Given the changes in lung structure and compliance that follow birth, we sought to determine whether the neonatal lung resists neighbouring structures encroaching into its space more than the adult lung and whether the lung surface making up the cardiac fossa resists distortion more than the lateral surface does. 2 Pleural distortions, induced by applied pressures ( P appl ) of 20‐120 g cm −2 at airway pressures ( P aw ) of 2.5‐15 cmH 2 O, were recorded in isolated lungs of adult, neonatal (4‐week‐old) and newborn (1‐week‐old) sheep. 3 The depth of pleural distortion increased ( P < 0.05, ANOVA) with increasing P appl in all lungs. Adult lungs were significantly more distortable than newborn and neonatal lungs ( P < 0.05). As P aw increased, the distortability of the adult lung decreased progressively ( P < 0.05) while the distortability of the newborn and neonatal lung remained constant at P aw of 2.5 and 5 cmH 2 O. 4 Adult lungs also differed from newborn and neonatal lungs in that the cardiac fossal surface was significantly less distortable than the lateral surface. 5 As newborn and neonatal lungs are less easily distorted than adult lungs, the potential for the lungs to limit cardiac filling is greater in the newborn and neonate than in the adult.