Art T, Lekeux P
Laboratory for Functional Investigation, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, Belgium.
Res Vet Sci. 1991 Jul;51(1):55-60. doi: 10.1016/0034-5288(91)90031-i.
In order to study the in vitro mechanical properties of the equine trachea submitted to the compressive pressures observed in vivo, the pressure-volume relationship was determined in intra- and extra-thoracic tracheal segments taken post mortem from 29 healthy horses (one to 15 years old; 352 to 651 kg). At the same time, the cross-sectional lumen area (X-SA) at the mid-point of the segment was measured using a slit-lamp transillumination and photographic measurement by endoscopy. The tracheal specific compliance (Cs) as well as the relative changes in X-SA and in the sagittal and transverse diameters, for intraluminal pressures from 5 to - 5 kPa, were calculated. The extrathoracic tracheal Cs was 0.060 +/- 0.002 kPa-1 and, at an intraluminal pressure of - 5 kPa, X-SA was reduced to about 73 per cent of its resting value. The intrathoracic segments were more compliant and, at similar compressive pressure, their X-SA was more reduced. These data show that the equine tracheal compliance is high and suggest that the increase in pulmonary resistance observed during strenuous exercise may be partly explained by a partial tracheal collapse.
