Pathophysiology of the Small Airways

Simonetta Baraldo; Marina Saetta; Manuel G. Cosio

doi:10.1055/s-2004-815598

Seminars in Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Inhaltsverzeichnis

Semin Respir Crit Care Med 2003; 24(5): 465-472
DOI: 10.1055/s-2004-815598

Pathophysiology of the Small Airways

Simonetta Baraldo¹ , Marina Saetta¹ , Manuel G. Cosio²

¹Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Section of Respiratory Diseases, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
²Respiratory Division and Meakins-Christie Laboratories, McGill University, Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Abstract

ABSTRACT

This review describes, in some detail, the normal structure of the small airways, how this structure is achieved during the development of the bronchial tree from embryogenesis to adulthood, and how the structure determines the function of the airways at different ages and in disease. We then describe the structural abnormalities in small airways in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and their relationship with the disordered pulmonary function found in this disease, as an example of the mechanisms leading to airflow limitation in diseased airways. We address the pathology of small airways in different stages of COPD, summarizing the structural abnormalities associated with the progressive deterioration of pulmonary function from smokers with normal lung function to smokers with severe COPD. The importance of the elastic recoil in the normal and abnormal function of the airways is also highlighted.

KEYWORDS

Inflammation - bronchiolitis - smoking - COPD

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Referenzen

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