Pulmonary and chest wall mechanics in anesthetized paralyzed humans

wall mechanics in anesthetized paralyzed humans. J. Appl. Phys-iol. 70(6): 2602-2610, 1991.-Pulmonary and chest wall me-chanics were studied in 18 anesthetized paralyzed supine hu-mans by use of the technique of rapid airway occlusion during constant-flow inflation. Analysis of the changes in transpul-monary pressure after flow interruption allowed partitioning of the overall resistance of the lung (RL) into two compartments, one (Rint,L) reflecting airway resistance and the other (ARL) representing the viscoelastic properties of the pulmonary tis-sues. Similar analysis of the changes in esophageal pressure indicates that chest wall resistance (Rw) was due entirely to the viscoelastic properties of the chest wall tissues (ARw = Rw). In line with previous measurements of airway resistance, Rint,L increased with increasing flow and decreased with increasing volume. The opposite was true for both ARL and ARw. Thi