Relationship of height to lung volume in healthy men.

The accurate definition of physiologic normality in man is a prerequisite to quantitation of disease. It has long been known that the total lung volume or a subdivision thereof of a person has limited significance as an isolated measurement unless it can be compared to a normal value. Although the ranges of normality of the various subdivisions, when expressed as a percentage of the normal total capacity, have been established, one still must know what the total capacity should be under normal conditions before actual values of it and its subdivisions can be evaluated in terms of being normal or abnormal. Ever since Hutchinson’ first reported his extensive study of the vital capacity of man, many attempts have been made to define the correlations between vital capacity (and later, total capacity) and various physical measurements in the hope that it would be possible to predict accurately the normal lung volumes from certain physical measurements. Hutchinson correlated vital capacity with standing body height. In addition, stem height, weight, surface area, circumference and volume of the thorax, radiologic lung area or volume, age or any combination of these measurements has been utilized in predicting lung volues.22 Most attempts have been made at trying to describe a linear correlation between body build and lung volume. Good correlations pertained over only limited ranges. To overcome this, formulas utilizing multiple linear correlations have been derived. Kelly,22 in a study of vital capacity of boys and girls, first identified the relationship between vital capacity and the cube of height. Bateman2 later expressed the relationship of the total lung volume and its subdivisions to the third power of the body height of adults of average stature. Subsequently, Morse and associates,21 Helliesen and co-workers,2 and Engstr#{246}m and associates2 described this relationship in boys and girls. It is the purpose of this study to determine if this relationship still pertains when the height levels are extended beyond the ranges heretofore reported.