Muscle and mucous gland size in the major bronchi of patients with chronic bronchitis, asthma, and asthmatic bronchitis.

Abstract

Mucous gland size and the amount of muscle in the bronchi were measured in 7 patients with typical chronic bronchitis, 4 patients with chronic bronchitis and attacks of wheezing (chronic asthmatic bronchitis), and 3 patients with classic spasmodic asthma. The patients with asthma had increased bronchial muscle, but the patients with chronic bronchitis did not. Three of the 4 patients with asthmatic bronchitis had increased muscle; such patients can therefore be recognized morphologically, and might account for a proportion of patients with bronchitis and unusual degrees of airways obstruction. Mucous gland size was increased in asthma when assessed by the Dunnill point count, but not by the Reid index.