title: Physiology of pulmonary perfusion: new concepts.
abstract: Regional pulmonary perfusion is spatially heterogeneous. The classic assumption has been that this is due to the influence of gravity. In the past decade, a new concept has emerged, stressing the fractal geometric properties of the pulmonary vascular tree. Studies that support the gravitational concept tend to have been elaborated using a lower resolution of measurement whereas experiments with high resolution measurements often yield results that contradict the gravitational hypothesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anaesthesiology, University Hospital, University of Munich, Marchioninistrasse 15, 81366 Munich, Germany. kleen@icf.med.uni-muenchen.de
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kleen
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zwissler