A t e r t h e c o m i n g o f P r o p h e t Muhammad, the Arabian tribes, in a great burst of expansionist energy, swept over Western Asia and North Africa. They disrupted, but did not destroy the Eastern Roman Empire, which had survived the barbarian onslaughts that had wiped out the empire in the West. The Eastern Empire, particularly after the Arabian conquests, came to be known as Byzantine...

Primary pulmonary hypertension is a well known though in patients with persistent hypoxaemia (Pa2 <7.3 kPa) who complain of deteriorating exercise tolerance in the rare condition, but pulmonary hypertension also occurs as a consequence of most heart and lung diseases where it is face of static spirometric values, or in those who develop evidence of fluid retention. This can be a difficult clin...

Pulmonary hypertension is a complex group of diseases characterized by a common denominator: elevated pressure in the pulmonary circulation. The etiology of pulmonary hypertension can be very various. The first step in successful treatment of pulmonary hypertension is early detection of this serious and potentially fatal disease. Very important is the suspect about the disease and send patient ...

1 Olin CL, Ritter DG, McGoon DC, et al. Pulmonary atresia: surgical considerations and results in 103 patients undergoing definite repair. Circulation 1976; 54:35–40 2 Werber J, Ramilo JL, London R, et al. Unilateral absence of a pulmonary artery. Chest 1983; 84:729–732 3 Bouros D, Pare P, Panagou P, et al. The varied manifestation of pulmonary artery agenesis in adulthood. Chest 1995; 108:670–...

Data are rapidly accumulating in support of the idea that circulating monocytes and/or mononuclear fibrocytes are recruited to the pulmonary circulation of chronically hypoxic animals and that these cells play an important role in the pulmonary hypertensive process. Hypoxic induction of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, stromal cell-derived factor-1, vascular endothelial growth factor-A, endo...

Transposition of the great arteries is frequently complicated by the early onset of pulmonary vascular disease. It is difficult to measure pulmonary blood flow by the Fick principle because the pulmonary arteriovenous oxygen content difference is small and bronchial blood flow is increased in this condition. In eight patients (mean age 7.7 years, range 3 months to 29 years) with transposition o...

The heart of non-crocodilian reptiles has two separate atria that receive blood from the systemic and pulmonary circulations. The ventricle is not fully divided, but is compartmentalised into two chambers (cavum dorsale and cavum pulmonale) by a muscular ridge that runs from the apex to the base of the ventricle. The muscular ridge is small in turtles, but is well developed in varanid lizards a...

This small book consists of a series of papers dealing with various aspects of hemodynamics in the macro-circulation of the lungs. The papers have little to say about the micro-circulation or the structure of the vessels themselves. Each paper is followed by a spirited discussion which proves to be a salubrious force against bias. The study group includes some of the most able and experienced i...

To fully describe the mechanisms of diastolic interaction between the right ventricle and left ventricle, it is necessary to understand how a change in right ventricular output (Qrvo) is transmitted across the pulmonary circulation. This series ventricular interaction is manifest as the temporal response in left ventricular filling (Qlvf) to a change in Qrvo. To quantify series interaction we u...