Bronchial hysteresis in excised lungs.

1. Intrapulmonary bronchi in excised dog lungs were outlined with tantalum dust and stereoscopic radiographs taken during deflation and inflation of the lung with air, saline, Ringer or EDTA solutions. Dimensions of airways as a percentage of their values at full inflation were calculated from measurements of the stereoscopic X-ray images. 2. The mean deflation-inflation diameter difference at a transpulmonary pressure of 5 cm H2O was 20% in the air-filled lung, 9% in the saline filled preparation and 2% after filling with EDTA in saline. 3. These results show that the intrapulmonary bronchi have an intrinsic hysteresis separate from the hysteresis imposed on them by the expansion of the surrounding parenchyma. This intrinsic hysteresis is mainly due to the tone of the smooth muscle in the bronchial wall.