Toward A Quantitative Understanding of Gas Exchange in the Lung

Abstract

In this work we present a mathematical framework that quantifies the gas-exchange processes in the lung. The theory is based on the solution of the one-dimensional diffusion equation on a simplified model of lung septum. Gases dissolved into different compartments of the lung are all treated separately with physiologically important parameters. The model can be applied in magnetic resonance of hyperpolarized xenon for quantification of lung parameters such as surface-to-volume ratio and the air-blood barrier thickness. In general this model provides a description of a broad range of biological exchange processes that are driven by diffusion.