Ultrastructural abnormalities of respiratory cilia. Descriptive and quantitative study of respiratory mucosa in a series of 33 patients.

Ultrastructural abnormalities of human respiratory tract cilia have been studied in 33 patients: 21 were adults, 18 with chronic bronchitis, and 12 were children, two with situs inversus. Abnormalities, such as the lack of a few dynein arms or the loss of a peripheral doublet were observed quite frequently in both children and adults. However, congenital abnormalities associated with the "immotile cilia syndrome" were rare and were observed in only three of the children and none of the adults.