Pathology of the lung in near-drowning

In order to study the initial pathological changes that occur in drowning, the authors developed an experimental model that closely simulates the actual changes in the nearly drowned patient. Adult male rabbits were anesthetized and intubated, and 6 ml/kg of fresh or salt water was instilled directly into the endotracheal tube. The animals were killed after 29 minutes, and the heart and lungs were then examined microscopically. The authors found that in the first 30 minutes, the brunt of the damage is borne by the vascular endothelium and not the alveolar cells.