Intralobular distribution of oleic acid-induced pulmonary edema in the pig. Evaluation by high-resolution CT.

The objective of this study was to elucidate the features of experimentally induced pulmonary edema at the lobular level, using high-resolution CT (HRCT) with pathological correlation. We selected the pig as the experimental animal because the pig has well-defined pulmonary lobules. Twelve Yorkshire pigs were included in this study. Five animals were used for studying normal anatomy of the pig lung. Pulmonary edema was induced by oleic acid infusion in 7 pigs. All computed tomographic (CT) scans were performed on a GE 9800 scanner, using 1.5 mm slice-thickness, 16 cm field of view with 512 X 512 matrix and bone reconstruction algorithm. The animals were killed after CT scans and the lungs were removed, inflated, fixed and dried, and subsequently sliced in sections which corresponded to the CT sections. Using CT images, specimen radiography, and histology, we studied the intralobular distribution of pulmonary edema in selected lobules of each animal. Oleic acid infusion caused multifocal hemorrhagic pulmonary edema within the pulmonary lobule. The distribution was uneven and areas surrounding the lobular bronchi were less involved. HRCT permits evaluation of morphological changes of oleic acid-induced pulmonary edema at the lobular level. The intralobular distribution of the lesions may provide additional information about the mechanism of permeability pulmonary edema.