[Bronchiolo-fiberscopic, histological and ultrastructural studies of peripheral lung tissues in bronchial asthma patients].
Bronchiolar findings in B8 and 9 of the right lung were taken with a BF-1. 8T bronchiolo-fiberscope in a total of 11 patients with bronchial asthma (6 male, 5 female, average age 59 years). In these patients air pollution was considered responsible for bronchial asthma. Approximately one month after the bronchoscopic examination, transbronchial lung biopsies were performed in the same portion of the lung. Histological and electron microscopic findings were correlated with the above results. Abundant secretion of a serous nature was constantly noted in the peripheral airways of each patient, which was consistent with the histological finding of goblet cell hyperplasia. Dark greenish pigmentation over the edematous mucosa was identified as anthracotic pigments, with or without iron deposit in the tissues. All patients showed occasional aggregates of alveolar macrophages with various amounts of carbon-mixed mineral dusts in their cytoplasm. Six of them formed in the alveolar interstitium micro-granuloma which consisted of epithelioid cells and multinucleated giant cells. These monocyte-derived cells were obviously adherent to one another by development of paired or unpaired subplasmallemmal linear densities along their cell membranes. Nine patients showed regeneration of bronchiolar cuboidal and type II alveolar epithelial cells along the proximal alveolar sacs. They frequently showed nuclear inclusions. This proliferative tendency is suggestive of previous bronchiolo-alveolar damage due possibly to the air pollutants in these patients.
Kawanami
O
O
Tanaka
M
M
Mitsui
T
T
Kawai
T
T
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001249:Asthma / Q000473:pathology*; D001980:Bronchi / Q000473:pathology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D001999:Bronchoscopy; D005260:Female; D005336:Fiber Optic Technology; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000473:pathology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged