Two Patterns for Bronchial Damage from Inhaled Materials

Abstract

The distal airways of less than 1 mm in diameter have recently become the focus of increased attention in understanding human disease, particularly respiratory failure. Our own interest was directed to small airways during studies of the prevalence of byssinosis in which cotton dust exposure and cigarette smoke were found to have a strong positive interaction in producing functional loss measured by forced expiratory flow in one second (FEV1) and symptoms of bronchitis.1 During experiments to determine which agents in cotton dust caused chronic bronchitis we subjected hamsters and guinea pigs to dust exposure and noted leukocyte recruitment throughout the airway.