Surrounding structures affect pressure-diameter behavior of excised dog bronchi

The effects of adjacent large blood vessels, fibroelastic membrane, and parenchyma on pressure-diameter (P-D) behavior of intrapulmonary bronchi were studied in five dog lung lobes. Central lobar airways were inflated separately by blocking all branches with beads and inflating the distal lobar air spaces via pleural capsules. After bronchial P-D curves were obtained at fixed pleural pressures (Ppl) of -30, -10, and -5 cmH2O, the P-D properties of the isolated bronchi were measured in each of four stages of dissection: 1) lobar artery and vein were left attached to the bronchus, but parenchyma was removed to within 1-2 mm of the limiting membranes; 2) all remaining parenchyma was carefully removed; 3) the large vessels were removed, leaving the bronchial fibroelastic membrane intact; and 4) the fibroelastic membrane was peeled from the bronchus. From stage 1 it was deduced that in the intact lobes, peak peribronchial parenchymal stress (Px) averaged -29.2 cmH2O at Ppl = -30 cmH2O). In stage 2 bronchial recoil was reduced only approximately 5%. The major decrease (approximately 35%) occurred in stage 3, indicating that interaction between vessels and bronchi contributed significantly to bronchial stiffness. A final decrease of approximately 10% was seen in stage 4. We conclude that Px in the intact state is similar to Ppl at a transpulmonary pressure of 30 cmH2O and that stages 1 or 2 may provide a better basis for estimating Px than the commonly employed bronchus free of vessels and tissue.