Pulmonary blood flow distribution measured by radionuclide-computed tomography

Distributions of pulmonary blood flow per unit lung volume were measured with subjects in the prone, supine, and sitting positions by means of radionuclide-computed tomography of intravenously administered 99mTc-labeled macroaggregates of human serum albumin. The blood flow was greater in the direction of gravity in all 31 subjects except one with severe mitral valve stenosis. With the subject in a sitting position, four different types of distribution were distinguished. One type had a three-zonal blood flow distribution as previously reported by West and co-workers (J. Appl. Physiol. 19: 713–724, 1964). Pulmonary arterial pressure and venous pressure estimated from this model showed reasonable agreement with pulmonary arterial pressure and capillary wedge pressure measured by Swan-Ganz catheter in 17 supine patients and in 2 sitting patients. The method makes possible noninvasive assessment of pulmonary vascular pressures.