SOME PHASES OF POSTOPERATIVE ATELECTASIS-The Role of Ciliary Action in Absorption of Air.

The primary cause of postoperative atelectasis is the production of excessive quantities of mucus which occlude one or more air passages. This mucus is moved upward in the bronchial tree in successive masses, which carry with them bubbles of air, at the same time as the gases of the air are being absorbed by the venous blood. When all of the air has been removed, negative pressure develops which is equal to the effective ciliary power acting upon the contained masses of mucus. This negative pressure is, in all probability, maintained solely by ciliary action.