Zeitschrift für Atemwegsmedizin

Abstrakt

Pulmonary Findings Predict Mortality in Pneumonia Patients

Mike Saunders

In healthy adults, the pleura space contains a small volume of low protein fluid that forms a lubricating film about thick between the visceral and parietal pleura surfaces. A pressure gradient facilitates movement into, but not out of the pleura space, as intra-pleura pressure is lower than interstitial pressure, and pleura membranes are leaky, offering little resistance to liquid or protein movement. The majority of pleura fluid exits the space by bulk flow, rather than diffusion or active transport, through the parietal lymphatic.