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Hypoxia recruits intrapulmonary arteriovenous pathways in intact rats but not isolated rat lungs
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Hypoxia recruits intrapulmonary arteriovenous pathways in intact rats but not isolated rat lungs

Melissa L Bates, Brendan R Fulmer, Emily T Farrell, Alyssa Drezdon, David F Pegelow, Robert L Conhaim and Marlowe W Eldridge
Journal of applied physiology (1985), Vol.112(11), pp.1915-1920
06/01/2012
DOI: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00985.2011
PMCID: PMC3379154
PMID: 22422800
url
https://doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.00985.2011View
Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

Intrapulmonary arteriovenous anastomoses (IPAVS) directly connect the arterial and venous circulations in the lung, bypassing the capillary network. Here, we used solid, latex microspheres and isolated rat lung and intact, spontaneously breathing rat models to test the hypothesis that IPAVS are recruited by alveolar hypoxia. We found that hypoxia recruits IPAVS in the intact rat, but not the isolated lung. IPAVS are at least 70 μm in the rat and, interestingly, appear to be recruited when the mixed venous P o 2 falls below 22 mmHg. These data provide evidence that large-diameter, direct arteriovenous connections exist in the lung and are recruitable by hypoxia in the intact animal.
lung hypoxia arteriovenous anastamoses microspheres intrapulmonary shunts

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