[Pulmonary circulation and autonomic nervous system].

The function of the autonomic innervation of the pulmonary vasculature remains incompletely understood. Recent studies have contributed to a better understanding of pressure-flow relationships within the pulmonary circulation in intact dog experimental models. This methodological approach has been used to show that, in normal hyperoxic or moderately hypoxic lungs, the sympathetic nervous system exerts a net vasodilatating effect, while the parasympathetic nervous system does not seem to participate to the regulation of vasomotor tone. These results underscore that research in "traditional" physiology still is implicated in ongoing progress in physiopathology and therapeutics.