Abstract
The echocardiographic contrast effect seen when biologically compatible solutions are injected peripherally predominantly results from the presence of microbubbles of air in the injectate and injecting apparatus (1). Survival time of these microbubbles in the blood is not very long and the smaller the bubble the faster it disappears because of surface tension effects (2). In addition, microbubbles larger than 8 microns do not pass the pulmonary capillary bed, due to the “sieve effect” of the capillaries (3). As a consequence, echocardiographic contrast effect on the left side of the heart can at present only be obtained with pulmonary wedge or direct left heart catheter injection (4–6), in the absence of intracardiac or intrapulmonary shunting.
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© 1982 Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, The Hague
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Roelandt, J., Meltzer, R.S., Verdouw, P.D. (1982). Opacification of the Left Heart by Peripheral Venous Contrast Echocardiography: Animal Experiments. In: Hanrath, P., Bleifeld, W., Souquet, J. (eds) Cardiovascular Diagnosis by Ultrasound. Developments in Cardiovascular Medicine, vol 22. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-7603-0_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-7603-0_3
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