Talk:Hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

	This article is within the scope of WikiProject Medicine. Please visit the project page for details or ask questions at the doctor's mess.
Stub	This page has been rated as stub-Class on the quality assessment scale
???	This page has not yet received a rating on the importance assessment scale.

The last line of this article explains why HPV might occur; however, this explanation is not entirely correct. The lung reacts to hypoxia with constriction of vasculature exposed to hypoxia in order to shunt blood to regions of the lung that are better ventilated, not to affect increased blood flow to "unused parts of the lungs". The last part of the sentence, needs clarification. The total area involved in gas exchange is not increased, rather it is optimized.

Reference:

Moudgil, R., E. D. Michelakis, et al. (2005). "Hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction." J Appl Physiol 98(1): 390-403.