The weight of human lungs as a diagnostic criterium (distinction of normal lungs from shock lungs by histologic, morphometric and biochemical investigations).

Lung weight, extravascular water content, hemoglobin content as an index of blood congestion, and DNA content as an index of cellular content, were determined for 57 patients dying from multiple, extrathoracic trauma. This report, which confirms previous publications, concerns itself in particular with the problems of determination of the "normal" lung weight. Studies of the influence of survival time on the lung showed that lung weight may significantly increase to twice its value after very short times up to one hour after trauma as a result of blood congestion, and following longer survival may be elevated several times as a result of developing interstitial edema. Early appearing interstitial edema is morphometrically detectable already 10 minutes after the beginning of shock. Normal weights were obtained from 10 cases after immediate death following severe cranial trauma or decapitation by being run over. Our results show that normal lungs have an average weight of 234 g (s +/- 39). Literature values for "normal" lung weight are approximately twice as high.