Effects of the ventilation pattern and pulmonary blood flow on lung heat transfer

To investigate the relative role of pulmonary perfusion compared to ventilation on lung heat exchange, we determined the effects of blood flow, tidal volume and frequency of ventilation on the rate of lung heat transfer. In anesthetized dogs and isolated, perfused lungs, we investigated the dependence of the overall lung heat transfer coefficient (HTC) and lung thermal capacitance upon ventilation and pulmonary blood flow. The relationship between the HTC and pulmonary blood flow was strongly dependent on ventilation parameters. A distributed model of non-steady-state heat exchange adequately described these observations and demonstrated that changes in pulmonary blood flow may be considered as changes in the effective conductivity of the bronchial walls as 0.4 (0.1) J s⁻¹m⁻¹ K⁻¹ per (l/min⁻¹) of pulmonary blood flow. Our model describes the complex relationship between HTC, ventilation pattern, and effective thermal conductivity of the bronchial walls, all of which present limitations for the use of lung heat transfer to determine pulmonary blood flow.