To investigate the relationship between diameter of airways and lung volume in various respiratory phases, serial bronchography and simultaneous spirography with records of X-ray exposures have been performed. Serial bronchograms have been taken at a speed of 3 films per second in resting respiration or forced expiration. 17 normal and 16 diseased cases were selected as subjects for this study. Diameters of airways were measured in about 10 bronchial divisions in each case.
The results obtained were as follows:
1) In most of normals, airway diameters in resting inspiratory phase was always larger than those in expiratory phase (Type I). The type I is considered as basic pattern of changes of airway calibre in normal resting respiration, particularly in airways smaller than lobar bronchi.
2) In forced expiration, in normals and in most of diseaseds, trend of reduction in each airway diameter was almost linear in the first one second. Diameter of bronchi in lower lobe reduced much more than those in upper lobe. This difference became larger in the last part of forced expiration (Fig. 4).
3) In forced expiration, 2 normals showed infolding of posterior membranous portion of the wall in large bronchi associated with remarkable reduction of diameters in most other airways. The appearance of tracheobronchial collapse syndrome would be related to the stage, where infolding phenomenon occurs.
4) In some patients with obstructive disturbance, most of airway diameters reduced remarkably soon after the beginning of forced expiration, and then enlarged at the end of first second (Fig. 6). In this consideration, one of reasons of obstructive disturbance seems to be this marked reduction of airway diameters at the early stage of forced expiration.
5) Airway diameters at 1.0 second in forced expiration had negative correlation with FEV 1.0%, and the degree of this correlation was higher in lobar bronchi than in other bronchi (Table 3).
6) Airway diameters at 2.5 seconds in forced expiration had also negative correlation with % VC, but the degree of this correlation was insignificantly small, particularly in trachea (Table 4).
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