ABSTRACT
I. Introduction 225
II. First-Pass Contrast Agent Technique-Basics 227
III. Basics of Quantitative Assessment of Pulmonary
Perfusion Imaging 227
IV. Animal Studies of Contrast-Enhanced MR Perfusion Imaging 229
V. In Vivo Study of Contrast-Enhanced MR Perfusion Imaging 230
VI. Limitations of Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced MR
Perfusion Imaging 234
VII. Conclusions 235
References 236
I. Introduction
To be effective at gas exchange, the lung cannot act in isolation; the lung must
interact with the central nervous system (which provides the rhythmic drive to
breathe), the diaphragm, and muscular apparatus of the chest wall (which
respond to signals from the central nervous system and act as a bellows for move-
ment of air), and the circulatory system (which provides blood flow and, there-
fore, gas transport between the tissues and the lungs). The processes of oxygen
uptake and carbon dioxide elimination by the lungs depend on the proper
functioning of all affected systems, and a disturbance in any of them can result in
clinically important abnormalities in gas transport and arterial blood gases.
