Abstract
Labor decreases lung water in fetal rabbits (Bland et al, Am J Obstet Gynec 135:364, 1979). To see if labor would have the same effect in lambs, we measured the amount of blood and extravascular water in the lungs of 15 late-term lambs (term=147d) killed either without prior labor (n=6), late in labor (n = 4), or 6 h after spontaneous vaginal birth (n=5). Summary (X± sx):
Labor was associated with a 53% increase in lung blood and a 36% decrease in extravascular lung water. These results indicate that the lungs shed 11.6 ± 1.5 ml water/kg body weight before birth, and 6.0±0.5 ml water/kg body weight after birth. In the 5 lambs killed after birth, we measured lung lymph flow before and during labor, and for 6 h after breathing began. Lymph flow was unaffected by labor, but increased transiently after birth, as liquid entered the interstitium from air spaces. The postnatal increase in lymph flow accounted for 13-18% of the liquid removed from the lungs after birth. We conclude that in lambs (1) lung blood increases and lung water decreases before birth, and (2) the pulmonary circulation directly absorbs more than 80% of the liquid expelled from the lungs after birth.
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Bland, R., Hansen, T., Haberkern, C. et al. 1628 REMOVAL OF LIQUID FROM THE LUNGS OF LAMBS BEFORE AND AFTER BIRTH. Pediatr Res 15 (Suppl 4), 714 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198104001-01645
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198104001-01645