ISSN:
0003-276X
Keywords:
Life and Medical Sciences
;
Cell & Developmental Biology
Source:
Wiley InterScience Backfile Collection 1832-2000
Topics:
Medicine
Notes:
Endobronchial lavage was performed on eight smokers and eight nonsmokers. Centrifugation of lavage fluid produces a sediment consisting of two layers, a lower compact brown layer containing cells and an upper flocculent white layer. The brown layers from the smokers were greater in volume than those from the nonsmokers. Macrophages constituted about 93% of the cells from the smokers and about 63% of the cells from the nonsmokers. These data suggest that more free macrophages occur in the lungs of smokers than nonsmokers. In addition, many of the macrophages obtained from the smokers were filled with cytoplasmic inclusions. The volumes of white layers from the smokers were smaller than those from the non-smokers. One white layer obtained from a nonsmoker was examined in a Wilhelmy balance and proved to be surface-active. This may suggest that surface-active material, pulmonary surfactant, is reduced in lavage fluids from smokers.
Additional Material:
3 Ill.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ar.1091630402
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