[Qualitative and quantitative observations of smoking-induced morphologic changes in muscular pulmonary arteries]

Light microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, image processing and morphometric technique were applied to analyze the morphologic changes in the muscular pulmonary arteries from the rats after exposure to smoking. The results showed that the pronounced muscularization of the small pulmonary arteries. significant reduction of the intraacinar arteries, intimal and medical thickening that was significantly associated with the cellular elements and extracellular matrix, and the smooth muscle cells proliferated and migrated from the media to intima of artery, the cell shape modified and increased in rough endoplasmic reticulum also were found. Although the functional significance of these findings is unknown, they might play an important role in smoke-induced occurrence and development of pulmonary hypertension and cor pulmonale.