The Effects of Prostaglandin E1 on Fetal Pulmonary Vascular Resistance

Abstract

The effects of PGE on pulmonary vascular resistance were investigated in fetal goats using an isolated perfusion technique on otherwise intact unventilated lobes. PGE decreased perfusion pressure in the left pulmonary artery under conditions of monary vascular resistance by vasodilatation of tonically contracted vascular smooth muscle. In our preparation, intrapulmonary PGE infusion did not alter femoral arterial pressure which suggests that PGE is inactivated in the fetal lung. Implications for PGE in the newborn with respiratory distress and increased pulmonary vascular resistance are discussed.