[Etiopathogenic mechanisms of increased airway responsiveness]

Views on mechanisms of increased airway responsiveness in patients with bronchial asthma and other respiratory tract are presented. The data have been divided into three parts: mucosal and submucosal changes, changes in airway regulations and effector cells. In the first part the etiopathological mechanisms of inflammatory processes in airways are explained. The second part views the neurogenic and other airway disorders (vagus reflex arc, local axon reflex, epithelial relaxing factor) while the third focuses on the receptor activity changes and cellular mechanisms known to cause airway hypersensitivity and hyperreactivity.