Functions of the Respiratory Passageways

1. Muscular wall of the bronchi and bronchioles & its control

- Walls of the bronchioles are almost entirely smooth muscle, except respiratory
bronchiole
Mainly pulmonary epithelium, underlying fibrous tissue & few smooth muscle
fibres.
- The bronchioles kept expanded mainly by the same transpulmonary pressures that
expand the alveoli
As the alveoli enlarge, bronchioles also enlarge (not as much)
- Many obstructive disease of the lungs result from narrowing of the smaller bronchi &
larger bronchioles, often due to excessive contraction of the smooth muscle itself.
2. Resistance to airflow in bronchial tree
- Amount of resistance to airflow occurs in larger bronchioles & bronchi near the
trachea.
- In diseases condition : Smaller bronchioles often play a greater role in determining
airflow resistance because of small size & are easily occluded by :
i. Muscle contraction in their walls
ii. Edema occurring in the walls
iii. Mucus collecting in the lumens of the bronchioles
3. Nervous & local control of bronchial musculature
i)
Sympathetic dilation of bronchioles
Direct control is relatively weak
Bronchial tree is very much exposed to norepinephrine & epinephrine released by
sympathetic stimulation dilation of the bronchial tree
ii)

Parasympathetic constriction of bronchioles

A few parasympathetic fibres derived from the vagus nerves penetrate the lung
parenchyma
- Secretes acetylcholine mild to moderate constriction of the bronchioles
When a disease process such as asthma has already caused some bronchiolar
constriction, superimposed parasympathetic nervous stimulation often worsens
the condition.
Sometimes parasympathetic nerves are also activated by reflexes that originate
in the lungs such as : irritation of the epithelial membrane by noxious gases, dust
, cigarette smoke or bronchial infection

iii)

Local secretory factors often cause bronchiolar musculature

- Several substances formed in the lungs themselves are often quite active in
causing bronchiolar constriction: 2 most important are
i. Histamine
ii. Slow reactive substance of anaphylaxis*
- Both of these are released in the lung tissue by mast cells during allergic
reactions.
They play key roles in causing the airway obstruction that occurs in asthma
especially slow reactive substance of anaphylaxis

4. Mucous lining the respiratory passageways & action of cilia to clear the
passageways
- All the respiratory passages are kept moist by a layer of mucus that coats the
entire surface & lined with ciliated epithelium with about 200 cilia on each
epithelial cell.
Cilia beat continually & direction of their power stroke is always flow
slowly toward to the pharynx

 Then the mucus & its entrapped particles are either swallowed / coughed
to the exterior.
- Secretion of mucus partly by :
i. Individual mucous goblet cells in the epithelial lining of the passages
ii. Small submucosal glands
- Function of mucus : traps small particles & keeps them from reaching the alveoli