1 Department of Pediatrics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
1. Three tests of intrapulmonary gas distribution (the nitrogen clearance, the single-breath oxygen, and the oxygen equilibration index) were included in a study of normal children. Several adaptations for children were made.
2. When the tests include lung volume adjustments, they show no correlation with changing body size, indicating no change in the uniformity of gas distribution with growth.
3. Values of the upper limits in normal subjects for four interpretations of the three tests are given.
4. No significant correlation among the three volume-adjusted tests was found in these normal subjects.
5. Longitudinal studies of the SBO test show that for the individual some quality related to evenness of gas distribution persists during growth.