Osborne D R, Effmann E L, Hedlund L W
AJR Am J Roentgenol. 1983 Mar;140(3):449-54. doi: 10.2214/ajr.140.3.449.
The acinus and the secondary lobule are important anatomic, functional, and pathologic units in the human lung; there are, however, few studies that specifically describe their postnatal growth and size. Normal lungs from 15 children and adults dying without evidence of pulmonary disease were fixed and dried using a standardized technique and were radiographed after tantalum or silver nitrate bronchoacinography. The acini and secondary lobules were identified and the diameters of these terminal respiratory units determined. The mean diameter of the pulmonary acinus at 1 month was 1 mm; 1 year, 2.5 mm; and at 2 years, 3 mm. The mean acinar diameter had increased to 6 mm at 12 years and reached a normal adult range of 6-10 mm during late adolescence. Acinar size seemed to be related to both height and age. The mean diameter of the secondary lobule at birth measured 3 mm, increased to 5 mm by the end of the first year of life, and by the fourth year measured 9 mm; at 12 years it measured 15 mm, and in late adolescence and adult life it ranged between 13 and 20 mm. A knowledge of the size of the acinus and secondary lobule has a practical application in radiologic practice and will be important in regional structural analysis of the pulmonary parenchyma with computed tomography.
腺泡和次级肺小叶是人类肺脏重要的解剖、功能及病理单位；然而，专门描述其出生后生长及大小的研究却很少。对15例无肺部疾病证据而死亡的儿童及成人的正常肺脏，采用标准化技术进行固定和干燥处理，并在进行钽或硝酸银支气管肺泡造影后进行X线摄影。识别出腺泡和次级肺小叶，并测定这些终末呼吸单位的直径。1个月时肺腺泡的平均直径为1毫米；1岁时为2.5毫米；2岁时为3毫米。12岁时腺泡平均直径增至6毫米，并在青春期后期达到6 - 10毫米的正常成人范围。腺泡大小似乎与身高和年龄均有关。出生时次级肺小叶的平均直径为3毫米，1岁末增至5毫米，4岁时为9毫米；12岁时为15毫米，青春期后期及成人期其范围在13至20毫米之间。了解腺泡和次级肺小叶的大小在放射学实践中有实际应用价值，并且在利用计算机断层扫描对肺实质进行区域结构分析时也将具有重要意义。
