The small trees of gas-exchanging pulmonary airways, which are fed by the most distal purely conducting airways, are called acini and represent the functional gas-exchanging units. The three-dimensional architecture of the acini has a strong influence on ventilation and particle deposition. Due to the difficulty in identifying individual acini on microscopic lung sections, the knowledge about t...

The mechanical derangements in the acutely injured lung have long been ascribed, in large part, to altered mechanical function at the alveolar level. This has not been directly demonstrated, however, so we investigated the issue in a rat model of over-inflation injury. Following thoracotomy, rats were mechanically ventilated with either 1) high tidal volume (Vt), or 2) low Vt with periodic deep...

Davies, G., and Reid, L. (1971). Archives of Disease in Childhood, 46, 623. Effect of scoliosis on growth of alveoli and pulmonary arteries and on right ventricle. During childhood the lung not only grows in size but alveoli and arteries multiply and the pattern of muscularity of the arteries changes. A quantitative study is here reported on 4 cases of scoliosis. The limitation and distortion o...

In recent years there has been increasing interest in the choice of the best material for bone substitutes. Experimental models enable estimation of biological potential, efficacy and safety of a biomaterial before its clinical application. The aim of this study was to evaluate the response of a bone substitute, UNC bone matrix powder (MOeP-UNC), for repairing the post-extraction alveolus in Wi...

Previous studies have shown that a shift in blood flow away from edematous regions does not occur until the alveoli contain liquid. The present experiments were designed to examine the separate effect of air space liquid, air space plus interstitial liquid, and reduced lung volume on blood flow. We found that reduced lung volume was not associated with significant changes in blood flow and that...

BACKGROUND Transbronchial lung biopsy (TBLB) is a commonly performed bronchoscopic procedure. Previous studies have suggested that larger biopsy forceps may improve diagnostic yield; however, the risk of bleeding associated with larger samples may be increased. The hot forceps are large forceps that are connected to an electrocautery system to minimize bleeding at the time of biopsy. OBJECTIV...

The study of internal soft tissue with the scanning electron microscope poses special technical problems of fixation, cleaning, and dehydration (3, 4, 6, 7) . For the dried, prepared tissue to be biologically significant, the surface configurations and interrelationships of its constituent cells must be preserved in a state similar to the way they appear in life . At the same time, the tissue s...

The current imaging methods have a limited ability to visualize microstructures of biological soft tissues. Small lesions cannot be detected at the early stage of the disease. Phase contrast imaging (PCI) is a novel non-invasive imaging technique that can provide high contrast images of soft tissues by the use of X-ray phase shift. It is a new choice in terms of non-invasively revealing soft ti...

Alveolarization is the process by which the alveoli, the principal gas exchange units of the lung, are formed. Along with the maturation of the pulmonary vasculature, alveolarization is the objective of late lung development. The terminal airspaces that were formed during early lung development are divided by the process of secondary septation, progressively generating an increasing number of a...

Chronic pulmonary emphysema may be defined by many standards but at present is demonstrable directly by morphologic examination. Clinically, the major complaint is dyspnea, and this must be associated with increased expiratory airway resistance and hyperinflation of the lungs with actual destruction of alveolar wall structure . Pathologically, emphysema is a disease affecting the acinus (basic ...