Journal of applied physiology
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Pleural liquid pressure was measured at end expiration in 11 spontaneously breathing anesthetized ponies in the prone and supine positions. A liquid-filled capsule was implanted into a rib to measure pleural liquid pressure with minimal distortion of the pleural space (Wiener-Kronish et al., J. Appl. ⋯ In each body position, mean transpulmonary pressure, measured postmortem, was similar to the estimated magnitude of pleural liquid pressure at 50% lung ht. This suggests that pleural liquid pressure is closely related to pleural surface pressure. These results are consistent with the poor ventilation distribution and reduced lung volumes measured in anesthetized horses in the supine position compared with values measured in horses in the prone position.