W. Melville Arnott, T.D., M.D., F.R.C.P., F.R.C.P.(Edin.), F.R.C.P.(C), F.C.
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Adequate pulmonary ventilation requires that each alveolus should receive at each inspiration sufficient air to maintain an oxygen tension above, and a carbon dioxide tension below, that of pulmonary capillary blood. Evidence was presented that the design of the air passages in respect to dimensions, ratios of diameters of parent to daughter branches, and angles of branching approximate closely the theoretical optimum for mass movement of gas down to the level of terminal bronchioles (0.6 mm in diameter). Distal to this point the geometry of the passages supports the hypothesis that gas movement is by molecular diffusion.
The single-breath nitrogen
Arnott WM. The Lilly Lecture: Alveolar Ventilation.. Ann Intern Med. 1968;68:1139. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-68-5-1139_1
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Published: Ann Intern Med. 1968;68(5):1139.
DOI: 10.7326/0003-4819-68-5-1139_1
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