Anesthesiology
-
After pulmonary artery occlusion (mimicking a pulmonary embolism), perfusion is redistributed to the rest of the lung tissue, but the distribution of ventilation is uncertain. ⋯ Regional pulmonary vascular occlusion is associated with a diversion of ventilation from nonperfused to perfused lung areas. This compensatory mechanism effectively limits ventilation perfusion mismatch. Quantitative computed tomography documented acute changes in lung densitometry after pulmonary vascular occlusion. In particular, the nonperfused lung area showed an increase in air volume and reduction in tissue mass, resulting in a decreased lung density.