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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 June 2012
Ischemic and traumatic brain insults may be followed by pulmonary failure, which is a frequent cause of death in cases of multi-trauma, cardiac arrest and stroke. Pulmonary edema (PE) can occur secondary to events in the central venous nervous system (CNS). This is generally termed neurogenic pulmonary edema (NPE). It is not known which of the following 4 factors of the modified Starling equation of pulmonary edema development are involved in the development of NPE: a) filtration coefficient, that is, increased membrane permeability; b) abnormal hydrostatic pressure gradient; c) abnormal oncotic pressure gradient; and d) blockage or overwhelming of lymphatic drainage (Fig. 1).