Peripheral Bronchographic Morphology in the Normal Human Lung

Peripheral bronchographic morphology was investigated in four excised normal human lungs. The lungs were inflated and a special tantalum suspension selectively injected into various areas of each lung. Multiple roentgenograms were obtained after each injection and during each subsequent stage of the investigation. The lungs were air-dried and sliced. In two of them, microradiographic and microscopic correlation of the sites of deposition of the contrast material were obtained in 23 areas. A characteristic difference in the appearance of non-respiratory bronchioles and the structures peripheral to them was demonstrated. Two confusing anatomical structures on non-respiratory bronchioles, namely outpouchings or diverticula and, perhaps, bronchiolealveolar communications of Lambert were shown. Using magnification techniques, it should be possible to precisely differentiate bronchographically between non-respiratory (conducting) bronchioles and the pulmonary parenchyma in the intact human subject.