Pleural liquid pressure gradients and intrapleural distribution of injected bolus.

In supine anesthetized dogs we measured pleural liquid pressure (Pliq) in mediastinal, diaphragmatic, apical, and costal regions at different lung heights during eupneic breathing. At end expiration and at a given height, Pliq was similar in the costal and apical regions, but it was lower in the diaphragmatic and mediastinal compartments. Inspiratory swings toward lower values were progressively greater with increasing height and moving from costal to apical, diaphragmatic and mediastinal compartments. Thus during inspiration, at any height, the costomediastinal and costodiaphragmatic Pliq difference increased while a costoapical difference developed. One minute after injection of 0.5-1 ml of saline at different points within the cavity, end-expiratory liquid pressure became higher on the average by 0.45, 1.55, and 0.55 cmH2O in the apical, mediastinal, and diaphragmatic compartments, respectively, while no change was observed on costal side. These results suggested liquid accumulation in the compartments displaying a lower Pliq. This was confirmed by following, with a gamma camera, on a frontal projection of the lung, the intrapleural distribution of a bolus containing 99mTc-labeled albumin injected at various places.