Abstract
Tenacious sputum of a patient with a respiratory disease is one of the major components of airway obstruction. It is important in such disorders to eliminate effectively such viscid sputum. Great significance is therefore given to the development of a method which can exactly measure the viscosity of sputum. Rheological properties of sputum were therefore examined and the following results were obtained: Sputum has the properties of non-Newtonian liquid; there is a yield point in its fluidity and thus, it is meaningful for the measurement of the viscosity to determine the yield value; it is also necessary to determine the adhesiveness, on which expectoration depends and finally, the pulmonary function must at the same time be taken into consideration.
