Series distribution of airway collapsibility in dogs.

We studied the series distribution of collapsibility in four different-sized airways in dogs. The trachea and the extrapulmonary main bronchi in situ were isolated from the rest of the lungs by glued beads of 6-12 mm OD. In excised dog lungs, the intrapulmonary large and small bronchi were isolated from the rest of the lung by glued beads of 1-9 mm OD. Pressure-volume relationships were measured directly in the trachea and in the extrapulmonary bronchi; those of the intrapulmonary bronchi were derived from orthogonal bronchograms. Airway collapsibility, defined as the slope of the pressure-volume curve, was found to increase in all airways as transpulmonary pressure (PL) decreased. At PL 30 cmH2O there was little difference of airway collapsibility among the different sized airways; but, as PL decreased, the peripheral airways became more collapsible than the central airways. It is concluded that the tissues surrounding the trachea provided as much or more stiffness than did the lung tissues that surrounded the intrapulmonary airways. The larger collapsibility in the peripheral airways. The larger collapsibility in the peripheral airways relative to that of the central airways at lower PL may account for the peripheral migration of the flow-limiting segment during forced expiration.