Modern ventilatory strategies are based on the assumption that lung terminal airspaces act
as isotropic balloons that progressively accommodate gas. Phase contrast synchrotron …

Introduction The mechanisms of lung inflation and deflation are only partially known.
Ventilatory strategies to support lung function rely upon the idea that lung alveoli are …

Despite nearly a half century of studies, it has not been fully understood how pulmonary
alveoli, the elementary gas exchange units in mammalian lungs, inflate and deflate during …

Localized morphometric deformations of small airways and alveoli during respiration have
several biomechanical and physiological implications. We developed fast synchrotron …

Objectives: Positive pressure ventilation exposes the lung to mechanical stresses that can
exacerbate injury. The exact mechanism of this pathologic process remains elusive. The …

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is characterized by increased elastance of the
lung and respiratory system (1). Depending on the precipitating factor, pulmonary vs …

The magnitude and distribution of strain imposed on the peripheral airspaces by mechanical
ventilation at the microscopic level and the consequent deformations are unknown despite …

Although recruitment of atelectatic lung is a common aim in acute respiratory distress
syndrome (ARDS), the effects of a recruitment maneuver have not been assessed …

It is self‐evident that our chests expand and contract during breathing but, surprisingly,
exactly how individual alveoli change shape over the respiratory cycle is still a matter of …

Despite the importance of dynamic changes in the regional distributions of gas and blood
during the breathing cycle for lung function in the mechanically ventilated patient, no …