Imaging
Those who care for patients with pulmonary, critical care or sleep disorders rely heavily on chest radiology and pathology to determine diagnoses. The Southwest Journal of Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep publishes case-based articles with characteristic chest imaging and related pathology.
The editor of this section will oversee and coordinate the publication of a core of the most important chest imaging topics. In doing so, they encourage the submission of unsolicited manuscripts. It cannot be overemphasized that both radiologic and pathologic images must be of excellent quality. As a rule, 600 DPI is sufficient for radiographic and pathologic images. Taking pictures of plain chest radiographs and CT scans with a digital camera is strongly discouraged. The figures should be cited in the text and numbered consecutively. The stain used for pathology specimens and magnification should be mentioned in the figure legend. Those who care for patients with pulmonary, critical care or sleep disorders rely heavily on chest radiology and pathology to determine diagnoses. The Southwest Journal of Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep publishes case-based articles with characteristic chest imaging and related pathology. The editor of this section will oversee and coordinate the publication of a core of the most important chest imaging topics. In doing so, they encourage the submission of unsolicited manuscripts. It cannot be overemphasized that both radiologic and pathologic images must be of excellent quality. As a rule, 600 DPI is sufficient for radiographic and pathologic images. Taking pictures of plain chest radiographs and CT scans with a digital camera is strongly discouraged. The figures should be cited in the text and numbered consecutively. The stain used for pathology specimens and magnification should be mentioned in the figure legend.
Medical Image of the Week: Lactate Threshold
Figure 1. V slope method for lactate threshold is where the CO2 production (VCO) increases compared to oxygen consumption (VO2). This is indicated by the vertical line.
The lactate or anaerobic threshold in exercise physiology is the point at which lactic acid starts to accumulate as the anaerobic component of metabolism increases and has been used to assess cardiopulmonary fitness. The V-slope method is a non-invasive way of estimating the lactate or anaerobic threshold (1). As lactate accumulates the H+ is mainly buffered by HCO3- and produces CO2. A point can be seen in Figure 1 where CO2 production (VCO2) abruptly increases relative to O2 consumption (VO2). This represents the point at which the lactate threshold occurs.
Mohammad R. Dalabih, MBBS and Naser J. Mahmoud, MBBS
Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care
The University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ USA
Reference
- Beaver WL, Wasserman K, Whipp BJ. A new method for detecting anaerobic threshold by gas exchange. J Appl Physiol. 1986;60(6):2020-7. [PubMed]
Cite as: Dalabih MR, Mahmoud NJ. Medical image of the week: lactate threshold. Southwest J Pulm Crit Care. 2016;12(3):89. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13175/swjpcc006-16 PDF