The assessment of tobacco smoke toxicity in organ culture. II. Ultrastructural studies on the immediate response of foetal rabbit tracheal epithelium to short-term exposures of whole smoke.
Foetal rabbit tracheal organ cultures were exposed under defined conditions to whole cigarette smoke and fixed immediately for electron microscopy. After an exposure to 4 or 8 puffs, epithelial intercellular spaces were enlarged, the apical portion of many cells bulged out into the lumen and many cilia were swollen. An exposure to 12 puffs produced a breakdown of the epithelium.
D000818:Animals; D004848:Epithelium / Q000187:drug effects / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D009924:Organ Culture Techniques; D010947:Plants, Toxic; D011247:Pregnancy; D011817:Rabbits; D012907:Smoking / Q000150:complications*; D014026:Nicotiana; D014132:Trachea / Q000187:drug effects*