The Compliance Curve for the Flow Limiting Segments of the Airway

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Maximum effort flow-static recoil curves were obtained in 5 healthy subjects breathing air, He/O2 and SF6/O2 mixtures. In 4 of them maximum effort flows correspondeded to really maximal flows and their curves were transformed into compliance curves for the flow limiting segments of the airway and analyzed from the point of view of a previously presented lung model. The results showed that viscosity-dependent pressure losses from the alveoli to the flow limiting segments were minimal for air and SF6/O2 but not for He/O2. When viscosity-dependent pressure losses could be neglected, then expiration of gases of different densities gave almost identical compliance curves for the flow limiting segments. This supported the applicability of the model. The calculated compliance curves for the flow limiting segments were compared with data from the literature, and the findings indicated that flow limitation during expirations with just maximal flows throughout began in the extrapulmonary airways and moved upstream during the expiration.