THE EFFECT OF ANAESTHESIA UPON PULMONARY CIRCULATION

HE STUDY OF the pulmonary or, as T it is often called, the lesser circulation, is an intriguing one, since so little is known about its physiology as compared with the systemic circulation. In the past, many conclusions as to its behavior have been drawn from observations of the systemic circulation ; but i t is obvious that such deductions lack scientific confirmation. In view of the intensive study in recent years of the physiology and pathology of the lung, it is surprising that so relatively little attention has been paid to the pulmonary circulation which, after all, is an integral part of the lung. Only one major publication on the subject is availablea book reporting on the 1958 International Symposium of the Chicago Heart Association.l