West John B
Department of Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093-0623, USA.
Exerc Sport Sci Rev. 2004 Jan;32(1):24-30. doi: 10.1097/00003677-200401000-00006.
Pulmonary capillaries have a dilemma. Their walls must be extremely thin for efficient gas exchange, but be immensely strong to resist the mechanical stresses that develop during heavy exercise. Elite human athletes at maximal exercise develop changes in the structure of the capillary wall as evidenced by red blood cells in their alveoli. Racehorses routinely break their pulmonary capillaries while galloping.
肺毛细血管面临一个难题。它们的管壁必须极其薄以便进行高效的气体交换，但又要非常坚固以抵抗剧烈运动时产生的机械应力。顶级人类运动员在进行最大强度运动时，肺毛细血管壁的结构会发生变化，这在他们肺泡中的红细胞上得以体现。赛马在飞奔时经常会破裂肺毛细血管。
