Inability to preserve airway mucus in situ has limited our understanding of its structure and function. This light- and transmission electron-microscopic study of rat tracheal mucus used a nonaqueous fixative that retains mucus (epiphase) over a lucent layer (hypophase). The fixative is a 1% solution of osmium tetroxide dissolved in a perfluorocarbon. The mean thickness of rat tracheal epiphase...

The canine cervical trachea has been used for numerous studies regarding the neural control of tracheal smooth muscle. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether there is lateral dominance by either the left or right vagal innervation of the canine cervical trachea. In anesthetized dogs, pressure in the cuff of the endotracheal tube was used as an index of smooth muscle tone in t...

beta-Adrenergic agonist, isoproterenol (ISO), is a potent relaxant of tracheal smooth muscle and inhibits carbachol-induced contraction. The effect of ISO on intracellular free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) was examined in bovine tracheal smooth muscle strips, employing aequorin as Ca2+ indicator. Surprisingly, 10 microM ISO induces a 5-fold increase in [Ca2+]i which then gradually declines but ...

OBJECTIVES Prospective evaluation of tracheo-carinal airway reconstructions using pedicled extrathoracic muscle flaps for closing airway defects after non-circumferential resections and after carinal resections as part of the reconstruction for alleviation of anastomotic tension. METHODS From January 1996 to June 2006, 41 patients underwent tracheo-carinal airway reconstructions using 45 extr...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the acute effects of insulin on airway reactivity and the protective effects of beclomethasone and ipratropium against insulin-induced airway hyperresponsiveness on isolated tracheal smooth muscle in a guinea pig model. MATERIALS AND METHODS The trachea of each guinea pig was excised; one end of the tracheal strip was attached to the hook of the oxygen tube of a tissue b...

introduction: tracheal stenosis is normally caused by trauma, infection, benign and malignant tumors, prolonged intubation or tracheostomy. the best treatment for tracheal stenosis is resection and anastomosis of trachea. yet the major surgical complication of tracheal surgery is postoperative stenosis. the goal of this paper is to study the result of tracheal stenting as a replacement therapy ...