[System analytical approach of lung function and hemodynamics].

The authors critically analyse the traditional views in physiology and complete them with new statements based on computer model simulations of lung function and of hemodynamics. Conclusions are derived for the clinical practice as follows: the four-dimensional function curves are similar in both systems; there is a "waterfall" zone in the pulmonary blood perfusion; the various time constants of pulmonary regions can modify the blood gas values; pulmonary capillary pressure is equal to pulmonary arterial diastole pressure; heart is not a pressure pump, but a flow source; ventricles are loaded by the input impedance of the arterial systems and not by the total vascular (ohmlike) resistance; optimum heart rate in rest depends on the length of the aorta; this law of heart rate, based on the principle of resonance is valid along the mammalian allometric line; tachycardia decreases the input impedance; using positive end expiratory pressure respirators the blood gas of pulmonary artery should be followed; coronary circulation should be assessed in beat per milliliter, the milliliter per minute may be false. These statements are compared to related references.

Contribution of EFMI to development of medical informatics. European Federation for Medical Informatics.

The European Federation for Medical Informatics has been established in 1976. At the MIE 96 it has celebrated the 20th anniversary of its existence. During these 20 years the number of number of national societies who became a member has been increased from 10 to 26 and nowadays is 29 not mentioning 2-3 applicants.

Enhanced accumulation of pericardial fluid adenosine and inosine in patients with coronary artery disease.

Adenosine and inosine are believed to have cardioprotective effects. However, little is known about their possible role in the metabolic autoregulation of human coronaries and in pathologic conditions with supply/demand imbalance of the heart such as coronary artery disease. Since these low molecular weight nucleosides freely diffuse through the monolayer of the visceral pericardium, adenosine and inosine concentrations in pericardial fluid may well reflect the conditions in cardiac interstitium.

Protocols and guides, tools.

The author describes in the first part of the review the definitions and relations of the occurring concepts. In the second part a short history of the topic is overviewed. The third part is dealing with the electronic patient record based development of guidelines in addition what are the relations among guidelines, protocols, tools, knowledge-based systems, diagnosis supporting systems, expert systems, outcome analysis and artificial intelligence.

Respiratory analogue computer model.

An analogue computer model has been constructed to simulate the dynamic behaviour of the human cardiorespiratory system for studying the effect of changes in different system-variables--as alveolar ventilation, functional residual capacity (FRC) of the human lung and the cardiac output--on the partial pressure of carbon dioxide in the arterial and mixed venous blood (pCO2a, pCO2v). The respiratory analogue computer model (RACM) simulates reliably well-known clinical physiological as well as pathological phenomena. Reducing FRC or breath rate an oscillation of pCO2a has been developed, but the mean value has not been changed.