A theoretical model of protein, fluid, and small molecule transport in the lung

Abstract

The purposes of this research were to derive a mathematical model of blood-intestinal transport for the lung and to study the ability of this model to describe the results of previous lymph-collection and multiple-indicator experiments on the lungs of unanesthetized sheep. We used a three-pore model of the microvascular barrier to describe lymph flow, lymph-to-plasma ratios (L/P) of eight endogenous proteins, and the microvascular permeability-surface area (PST) of the lungs to [14C]urea in sheep experiments under base-line conditions and after acute elevation of the left atrial pressure. The results indicate that endothelial pathways consisting of a small pore (28 A), intermediate pore (180 A), and a large pore (1,000 A) can describe experimental L/P values and PST. The description of lymph flow required either than interstitial fluid pressure increase with left atrial pressure or that postcapillary venous resistance decrease relative to precapillary values. We concluded that multiple-pore theory is a useful approach to the description of lung blood-interstitial transport.