What is ventilation perfusion matching?
If it’s for homework: The pulmonary circulation receives the entire output of the right heart, but vascular pressures are considerably lower than in systemic vessels. Lung vessels lack high resistance arterioles, which accounts for their low resistance to blood flow. However, the lack of arterioles also compromises the ability of the lung to readily control the distribution of blood flow. Blood flow in the upright lung is distributed preferentially to the lung base because of the influence of gravity. However, the base also receives a greater proportion of the ventilation than does the apex. This imbalance in ventilation to perfusion in the upright lung can lead to a higher A/ at the apex than the base. This is reflected by a higher alveolar PO2 and lower PCO2 in alveoli at the apex than at lung base. Two types of edema, hydrostatic and permeability, can occur in the lung. They have different etiologies and characteristics and hence, require different therapeutic approaches. Hydrostati
