An Experimental Study of Bronchial Glands

¹ Medical and Surgical Services, Church Home and Hospital

Patients with primary idiopathic obstructive pulmonary emphysema who had the reduction in lung volume and the bilateral bronchopulmonary denervation operation revealed marked atrophy of submucosal bronchial glands when compared with the normal and with the unoperated patient with pulmonary emphysema. In addition, there was considerable reduction of PAS positive secretions and an absence of secretion stained by Alcian blue, thus indicating less neutral mucopolysaccharides and an absence of acid mucopolysaccharides. There was also atrophy of submucosal layers of the bronchi.

The submucosal bronchial glands of the domestic pig with the bronchopulmonary denervation operation showed marked atrophy when compared with normal control animals. There was a decrease in PAS positive secretions and a marked decrease in Alcian blue staining secretions from these atrophied glands. There was an appearance of goblet cells in the bronchialmucosa after bilateral bronchopulmonary denervation not found in normal control pigs without denervation. In addition, there was marked atrophy of the submucosal and mucosal layers of the bronchi after bilateral bronchopulmonary denervation.