The significance of bronchial atrophy.

In a 4-year period, 196 lungs from patients with and without chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were examined postmortem for the presence of atrophy in segmental and subsegmental bronchi. As a result of simultaneous postmortem spirometry, cinefluorobronchography and partitioning of airways resistance, plus later assessment of anatomic emphysema, bronchial atrophy emerges as only one of at least three factors usually cooperating in production of abnormal expiratory airway collapse. In selected cases, bronchial atrophy appears to be an important contributor to expiratory airways obstruction.