Figure 18.

Gas exchange impairment can be assessed with MR imaging of HP ¹²⁹Xe in the three compartments of the lung: airspace (A, D), tissue barrier (B, E), and red blood cells (C, F). Arrows in F indicate diminished ¹²⁹Xe uptake in red blood cells (RBC) due to inflammation and fibrosis caused by bleomycin. The thickening of blood gas barrier, confirmed by histology slides, slows down the ¹²⁹Xe transfer to gas space. Adapted and reprinted with permission from (Driehuys, Cofer et al. 2006). Copyright 2006 National Academy of Sciences, USA.