Regional pulmonary function in scimitar syndrome.

Analysis of regional pulmonary function distribution using radioactive 133xenon gas and eight scintillation detectors was performed in a patient with scimitar syndrome. Zonal ventilation per unit of lung volume within the slightly hypoplastic right lung was normal. The pulmonary blood flow to the lower right zone was significantly reduced due to aberrant systemic arterial supply to the right lower lobe. The 133xenon technique provides a simple nontraumatic method of evaluating the functional integrity of the right lung in this cardiopulmonary syndrome.