Abstract
An autopsied case (55 year-old woman) of acquired tracheobronchomalacia is presented. The following histopathological findings were observed on autopsy. Macroscopically, the cartilages of trachea were short and thin, and the arch of the tracheal cartilages was flat. On the contrary, the membranous portion of trachea was elongated, which resulted in elongation of the total circumference of trachea. The cartilages of both main bronchi were short, but the membranous portion was not elongated, which resulted in reduced total circumference of main bronchi. Microscopically, thin tracheal cartilage had ossifying lesions with inflammatory cell infiltration. A thick collagenous layer, which is not observed normally, was observed outside the tracheal cartilage, and the longitudinal elastic fibers were preserved in the cartilagenous portion, but were missing at the membranous portion of the trachea. The smooth muscle bundles were missing in the membranous portion, and collagen fibers replaced them with inflammatory cell infiltration.
Very few autopsied cases of tracheobronchomalacia have been reported, emphasizing the value of this report.
