Localization of lobeline-sensitive receptors in the pulmonary circulation in man

Abstract

Lobeline injected into the extrapulmonary part of the right or left branch of the main pulmonary artery, near the bifurcation, induces cough within 1.0 to 1.4 seconds, whereas no cough appears after injection of the drug into the intrapulmonary part of these arteries or into the left ventricle or the descending aorta. This shows that the cough-provoking chemoreceptors wich are sensitive to lobeline are situated in man near the bifurcation of the pulmonary artery. No difference in response was observed between the 2 normal subjects and the 6 patients with mitral stenosis.