Abstract
Summary
A method of measuring alveolar ventilation utilizing a portable mass spectrometer to determine the rate of nitrogen elimination is described. This test was shown by repeated trials to be rather uniform for each of a group of normal individuals. The range of nitrogen clearance volumes among normal individuals appears to be related to differences in lung volume, and correction for this factor approximates the pattern of values for those tested. Three cases of marked pulmonary emphysema are presented. The results from testing this group in a similar fashion indicate a prolongation of nitrogen elimination in these patients as compared with the normal subjects.
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