Resultados. Se ha producido un incremento de área alveolar, perímetro del alveolo, volumen de la esfera del alveolo, área del capilar pulmonar y perímetro del capilar pulmonar. Por otro lado, han disminuido el número de alveolos por campo, la masa de tejido pulmonar por campo y el grosor de la pared del capilar pulmonar.
Respecto al factor de forma alveolar, el diámetro de la esfera del alveolo y el factor de forma del capilar pulmonar, se observa una tendencia a la balonización y aproximación al círculo en todos ellos.
Conclusiones. La denervación pulmonar vagal produce un incremento del espesor de la pared del alveolo, con aparición de edema pulmonar en éste. Las lesiones observadas son más intensas en la vagotomía bilateral que en la unilateral, y esta última produce afectación pulmonar contralateral, lo que apoya la hipótesis de que la inervación vagal pulmonar en la rata es cruzada
Material and methods. Seventy-two Wistar rats were used to set up a control group and three study groups. The latter three groups were subjected to right, left and bilateral vagotomy, respectively. Eleven morphometric parameters were determined by microscopic study of tissue samples, and the results were analyzed statistically.
Results. The alveolar surface area, alveolar circumference, alveolar volume, pulmonary capillary surface area and pulmonary capillary circumference were increased. However, the number of alveoli per field, the lung tissue mass per field and the thickness of the pulmonary capillary wall were reduced. The alveolar shape, alveolar diameter and pulmonary capillary shape suggested a trend toward ballooning, with a nearly circular shape. These findings are supported by tabular data.
Conclusions.. Pulmonary vagal denervation increases the thickness of the alveolar wall, which is a accompanied by the onset of pulmonary edema. The lesions observed are more severe in bilateral than in unilateral vagotomy. The latter produces contralateral lung involvement, a fact that supports the hypothesis that pulmonary vagal denervation is crossed in the rat.