Pulmonary intravascular phagocytosis in liver disease.

Pulmonary intravascular phagocytosis, the uptake of circulating particles by lung cells, has been detected in rats with chronic biliary cirrhosis and in humans with malignancy and liver diseases. Clinical and experimental evidence supporting the association of pulmonary intravascular phagocytosis with liver cirrhosis is reviewed, and its relationship to pulmonary intravascular macrophage is discussed. A hypothesis is asserted that the induction of pulmonary intravascular macrophage in liver cirrhosis leads to increased susceptibility to adult respiratory distress syndrome in these patients.