George C. Leiner

The Vital Capacity in Pulmonary Emphysema

Excerpt It is commonly believed that the vital capacity of patients with obstructive or bullous pulmonary emphysema is more or less diminished; mild emphysema is supposed to be accompanied by sligh...

Timed vital capacity a correlation with maximal breathing capacity and use as a clinical test of ventilatory function

Summary The literature on timed vital capacity is reviewed. In 400 patients with various chronic pulmonary diseases the one-second timed vital capacity was compared with the maximal breathing capacity. It was found that the determination of the one-second timed vital capacity with the aid of the Gaensler-Collins vitalometer is an easy and reliable method. A good correlation exists between the one-second timed vital capacity and maximal breathing capacity. When the individuals are grouped as “normal” and patients with “restrictive,” “obstructive” and “combined” ventilatory defect, the ratio: M.B.C., L. per minute/one-second timed vital capacity, L., differs significantly between the groups, except between the “obstructive” and “combined” groups. For clinical evaluation of ventilatory function the determination of the one-second timed vital capacity appears to be satisfactory.