[The small airways obstruction: an assay of structure-function correlation]

A review is made of the structural lesions responsible of the small airways obstruction: stenosis of the peripheral membranous bronchioles, either segmental stenosis or diffuse narrowing; loss of bronchioles consecutive to the inflammatory destruction of their walls; mucus plugs; fine or metabolic modifications of the distal bronchiolar epithelium. It is probable that these two latter lesions,--mucus plugs and lesions of the bronchiolar epithelium--, are reversible. Nevertheless, we don't know presently what are among these various bronchiolar lesions those responsibles for the alteration of the functional tests used in the study of early obstruction of the small airways.