Distribution of smooth muscles along the bronchial tree. A morphometric study of ordinary autopsy lungs.
A morphometric pilot study was performed on airway smooth muscle in 20 autopsy lungs with no history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) to establish a basis for the systematic analysis of the behavior of airway muscles in bronchial asthma or COPD. A total of 514 samples of cross-sectioned airways were taken from these lungs, covering as uniformly as possible the whole range from segmental bronchi to terminal bronchioles. In each airway, the perimeter length L of the epithelial basement membrane and the area S of mural smooth muscles were measured using a digital image analyzer, and the thickness D of smooth muscles and the radius R were determined in a standardized state in which the airway was stretched into a circle without changing L or S. On bilogarithmic coordinates, D was found to correlate significantly with R not only in individual cases but also in the total pooled data. D/R, the relative thickness of muscles, increased toward the periphery of the airways. In a theoretical application of Laplace's law to the physical conditions dominating the airway wall, this tendency in D/R suggests that the activity of airflow regulation is highest in terminal airways.
Department of Pathology, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
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M
Ebina
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Yaegashi
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T
Takahashi
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M
Motomiya
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M
Tanemura
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001980:Bronchi / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005260:Female; D006652:Histological Techniques; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009130:Muscle, Smooth / Q000033:anatomy & histology*