P427

HERGET, J,, R. HOLUŠA, F. PALEČEK (Fac. Paediat., Charles Univ., Prague, Inst. Hyg. Epidemiol., Prague]. Pulmonary Hypertension in Rats with Experimental Emphysema. Physiol. bohemoslov. 23 (1): 55-65, 1974.

Pulmonary ventilation values, blood pressure in the lesser circulation and the pathological anatomical lung picture were studied in rats with experimental pulmonary emphysema induced by constriction of the trachea and the repeated instillation of bean extract into the trachea. Eighty days after tracheal constriction the experimental animals displayed distinct signs of pulmonary emphysema (augmented functional residual capacity, distension of the lung tissue, a typical morphological picture). Pulmonary emphysema did not develop in animals given bean extract without being subjected to tracheal constriction. A marked increase in blood pressure in the lesser circulation was found in all the experimental animals. Systolic pressure in the right ventricle and the maximum and mean pressure in the pulmonary artery were raised. The weight of the right ventricle was also increased. A rise in blood pressure in the pulmonary bed was likewise found after the administration of bean extract without constriction of the trachea, but it was less pronounced than in animals with tracheal constriction. The authors discuss the question of the causes of the development of pulmonary hypertension in this respiratory disease model and the relationship of experimental emphysema to clinical forms of emphysema.