Morphological and physiological responses of the lungs of dogs to acute decompression.

The lung's response to decompression was studied in dogs anesthetized with pentobarbital sodium. Arterial pressure, hematocrit, right ventricular pressure, left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP), dynamic compliance (CL), pulmonary resistance (RL), and arterial PO2, PCO2, and pH were measured prior to and for 3 h after a simulated air dive to 300 feet of seawater. Bronchoscopy was performed predive and at 3 h postdive. At 3 h animals were killed, and sections of lung were excised for histological examination. The decompression profile used regularly produced pulmonary hypertension, systemic hypotension, hemoconcentration, and arterial hypoxemia. CL fell in all but one dived animal. RL was more variable but remained unchanged postdive in most animals. The decompression stress did not alter the bronchoscopic and histological appearance of the airway mucosa. Pulmonary edema was regularly observed in histological sections and occurred without elevations of LVEDP. We concluded that noncardiac pulmonary edema is the principal response of the lung to decompression stress.