Flow-volume curves of excised right and left rabbit lungs.

Static pressure-volume (PV) curves and flow-volume (VV) curves of excised right and left rabbit lungs obtained by forced and passive deflation were compared. Deflation PV curves in which the volume was expressed as either ml/lung weight or percent total lung capacity were nearly identical between right and left lungs. Descending limbs of the forced VV curves in which the flow divided by vital capacity (VC) was plotted against %VC generally agreed between right and left lungs, although peak flow tended to be higher in left lungs. However, the flow obtained during passive deflation was higher in left lungs over most of the deflation suggesting that the resistance of proximal airways per unit volume is lower in left than in right lungs.