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Updated: Jul 25, 2026

Bronchial Thermoplasty: A Novel Therapeutic Approach to Severe Asthma
Published on: November 4, 2010
Air pollution and bronchitic symptoms in Southern California children with asthma
1U.S. Public Health Service, Washington, DC.
Abstract:
People who live in cities with dirty air have blacker lungs than people who live in rural areas with less air pollution. This is because, although particulates larger than 10 microm are filtered out when inhaled air passes through the nose, smaller particulates reach the lower airways. The particulates that reach the alveoli (the terminal air pockets of the lungs) stay there permanently. This accounts for the fact that a person who has lived in a polluted city for many years has blacker lungs than one who has lived in a polluted city for a shorter time.
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