Quantitative assessment of pulmonary edema.

• In the intact animal or man, pulmonary engorgement and edema are generally assessed on clinical and radiographic grounds. In the present study, pulmonary engorgement or a combination of pulmonary engorgement and edema was produced experimentally in anesthetized dogs and an attempt was made to distinguish between the two categories on the basis of measurements of the pulmonary blood volume, the pulmonary extravascular water volume and pulmonary mechanics. The results indicate that simultaneous determinations of the pulmonary blood volume and the extravascular water volume provide a quantitative basis for distinguishing between these two categories.