Wash-out of intraparenchymally injected Xenon-133 as a parameter of liver blood flow in the dog.

The method of intraparenchymal injection of xenon-133 for measurement of blood flow was evaluated for use in the liver. Repeated injections in the same liver gave rise to a great range of flow values, pointing to a heterogeneous liver perfusion. The use of single measurements for determination of liver blood flow with this method is not acceptable. Comparison between different livers is only possible when several injections are made and the results are given a statistical characterization. Flow values obtained generally did not correlate well with values determined by other methods. The method therefore seems suitable only for comparative and qualitative studies.