A three-compartment model of the pulmonary vasculature: effects of vasoconstriction

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Abstract
The venous occlusion experiments provide sufficient data to permit the vascular bed of a dog lung lobe to be mathematically modeled as 3 serial compartments, each containing a quantifiable resistance separated by equal parallel compliances. To determine how these compartments are related to the sites of vasomotion in the pulmonary vascualr bed, the effects of various pulmonary vasomotor stimuli were investigated. Serotonin, sympathetic nerve stimulation, hypoxia and prostaglandin F2.alpha. increased the pressure drop uptstream (arterial) from the site of major lobar compliance. Histamine, norepinephrine, epinephrine and elevation of the CSF pressure increased the pressure drop downstream (venous) from the site of major lobar compliance. These stimuli either did not affect the pressure drop across the middle compartment or increased it slightly. The middle compartment represents vessels located between the muscular arteries and veins including the capillary bed and possibly other small nonmuscular vessels. The average preocclusion pressure in the middle compartment is a microvascular pressure that can be used to evaluate the impact of vasoconstriction on the lobar microcirculation.

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