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Airway diameter determines flow-resistance and sensitivity to contractile mediators in perfused bronchial segments
M P Sparrow1, K E Willet, H W Mitchell
1Department of Physiology, University of Western Australia, Nedlands.
Agents and Actions. Supplements
|January 1, 1990
Abstract:
To study airway reactivity, flow-resistance to carbachol and histamine was measured in perfused bronchial segments. Small-bore airways were more sensitive, flow was reduced to zero and resistance rose very steeply due to mucosal folding while in large-bore airways maximum flow reduction was 50% and resistance increased sigmoidly. Thus the internal diameter of an airway is a crucial determinant of narrowing.