NON-UNIFORM PULMONARY DIFFUSION AS DEMONSTRATED BY THE CARBON MONOXIDE EQUILIBRATION TECHNIQUE: MATHEMATICAL CONSIDERATIONS*

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Abstract
Evidence indicating unevenness of pulmonary diffusion is cited, and a method is described for calculating pulmonary diffusing capacity in the presence of non-uniform diffusing capacity to lung volume ratios throughout the lung. In these calculations, an arbitrary lung model is utilized which allows determination of pulmonary compartments with varying diffusing characteristics. The applicability of this lung model must be demonstrated by its ability to explain experimental results; this is the subject of a second paper in this series.