Abstract
SATO, S., TAKADA, K., NAKAMURA, H., YASUI, S. and TAKAHASHI, K. Elastic Recoil Pressure Arising from Surface Tension in Hamster Lungs Treated with Intratracheal Bleomycin. Tohoku J. exp. Med., 1987, 152 (4), 325-331 - Lung elastic recoil pressure arising from surface tension (Ps) was evaluated in normal and bleomycin-treated lungs. Twenty two male golden hamsters were separated into a control group (group, A, n=10) and a bleomycin group (group B, n=12). Group B was given a single intratracheal instillation of bleomycin and group A was given normal saline as a control. Thirty days after instillation, three cycles of static air -and saline-filled pressure-volume curves (P-V curve) were measured. Ps was graphically derived from air- and saline-filled P-V curves. The Ps of groups A and B were compared at the same lung volumes. Mean body weight and nose-to-tail length of the two groups did not differ significantly. Total lung capacity, defined as lung air volume at a transpulmonary pressure of 25cmH2O, was significantly smaller in group B (mean±S.E. was 4.08±0.20ml) than in group A (mean±S.E. was 5.23±0.12ml) (p<0.01). The Ps of group B was significantly larger than that of group A at all lung volumes studied (p<0.01-0.05). These results indicate that the lung elatic recoil pressure component due to the surface tension was increased by intratracheal instillation of bleomycin in hamsters.