Studies on Elastic Recoil of the Lung in a Pediatric Population1–3

Volume-pressure curves were determined in lungs excised postmortem in 27 subjects who ranged in age from premature newborns to 23 years. Volumes were expressed in milliliters per gram of lung tissue. Despite the considerable scatter of the curves, a trend toward larger values at full inflation and steeper curves near collapse volumes occurred with increasing age up to approximately eight years. When lung volumes were expressed as percentage of those obtained at 20 cm H2O of transpulmonary pressure, it was apparent that the volumes at lower distending pressures did not change with age or body length indicating that the over-all shape of the static pressure characteristics did not change. Discrepancies with previously published data on living human subjects allowed for speculation regarding the factors influencing autopsy determinations such as interstitial edema and variability of blood content.