Normal volume and cellular contents of pleural fluid

Curr Opin Pulm Med. 2001 Jul;7(4):180-2. doi: 10.1097/00063198-200107000-00002.

Abstract

The pleural space in healthy humans was thought to contain a few milliliters of fluid, based on extrapolation from animal studies. However, because of the obvious technical difficulties in atraumatically retrieving such a small volume of fluid, the exact volume and cellular content of human pleural fluid has not been known. Development of a minimally invasive pleural lavage technique has allowed, for the first time, the measurement of volume and cellular content of the pleural fluid in healthy humans.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Body Fluids / cytology*
  • Dogs
  • Humans
  • Pleura / cytology*
  • Rabbits
  • Reference Values
  • Sheep
  • Therapeutic Irrigation