Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Pathophysiology of Bronchial Asthma

  • Chapter
Control of the Cardiovascular and Respiratory Systems in Health and Disease

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 381))

  • 194 Accesses

Abstract

The primary pathology of asthma is inflammation of the lower airway mucosa. This may lead to secondary contraction of bronchial smooth muscle, both processes narrowing the airways and causing obstruction. The relative importance of mucosal thickness and of smooth muscle contraction is subject to much discussion, and the balance probably varies between patients and during the course of the disease.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Baluk P, Nadel, J.A. & McDonald D.M. (1992) Substance P-immunoreactive sensory axons in the rat respiratory tract: A quantitive study of their distribution and role in neurogenic inflammation. J. Comp Neurol 319, 586–598.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Barnes, P.J. (1992a) Modulation of neurotransmission in airways. Physiol Rev 72, 699–729.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Barnes, P.J. (1992b) Neural mechanisms in asthma. Br Med Bull 48, 149–168.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Belvisi, M.G., Miura, M., Stretton, D. & Barnes, P.J. (1993) Vasoactive intestinal peptide and nitric oxide modulate cholinergic neurotransmission in guinea pig trachea. Eur J Pharmacol 231, 97–102.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Belvisi, M.G., Stretton, CD. & Barnes, P.J. (1992) Nitric oxide is the endogenous neurotransmitter of bronchodilator nerves in humans. Eur J Pharmacol 210, 221–222.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Burger, E.J. & Macklem, P.T. (1968) Airway closure demonstration by breathing 100% O2 at low lung volumes and by N2 washout. J Appl Physiol 25, 139–144.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Coleridge, H.M. & Coleridge, J.C.G. (1986) Reflexes evoked from the tracheobroncial tree and lungs. In: Handbook of Physiology, 3. The respiratory system, vol II, control of breathing, edited by Cherniack, N.S. & Widdicombe, J.G. American Physiological Society, Bethesda, pp. 395–429.

    Google Scholar 

  • Coleridge, H.M., Coleridge, J.C.G., Green, J.F. & Parsons, G.H. (1992) Pulmonary C-fibre stimulation by capsaicin evokes reflex cholinergic bronchial vasodilation in sheep. J Appl Physiol 72, 770–778.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Coleridge, J.C.G. & Coleridge, H.M. (1984) Afferent vagal C-fiber innervation of the lungs and airways and its functional significance. Rev Physiol Biochem Pharmacol 99, 1–110.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Coleridge, J.C.G., Coleridge, H.M., Roberts, A.M., Kaufman, M.P. & Baker, G.G. (1982) Tracheal contraction and relaxation initiated by lung and somatic afferents in dogs. J Appl Physiol, 52, 984–990.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Corfield, D.R., Hanafi, Z., Webber, S.E. & Widdicombe, J.G. (1991) Changes in mucosal thickness and blood flow in sheep. J Appl Physiol 71, 1282–1288.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Das, R.M., Jeffery, P.K. & Widdicombe, J.G. (1978) The epithelial innervation of the lower respiratory tract of the cat. J Anat 126, 123–131.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Das, R.M., Jeffery, P.K. & Widdicombe, J.G. (1979) Experimental degeneration of intraepithelial nerve fibres in cat airways. J Anat 128, 259–263.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Karlsson, J-A., Sant’Ambrogio, G. & Widdicombe, J.G. (1988) Afferent neural pathways in cough and reflex bronchoconstriction. J Appl Physiol 65, 1007–1023.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Keller, C.J. & Loeser A. (1929) Der zentripetale Lungen-vagus. Z Biol 89, 373–395.

    Google Scholar 

  • Knowlton, G.C. & Larrabee, M.G. (1946) A unitary analysis of pulmonary volume receptors. Am J Physiol 147,100–114.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Laitinen, L.A. & Laitinen, A. (1991) Overview of the pathology of asthma. In: Pharmacology of asthma, handbook of Experimental Pharmacology, edited by Page, C.P. & Barnes, P.J. Springer-Verlag, New York, p. 1–25.

    Google Scholar 

  • Laitinen, L.A., Heino, M., Laitinen, A., Kava, T. & Haahtela, T. (1985) Damage of the airway epithelium and bronchial reactivity in patients with asthma. Am Rev Respir Dis 131, 599–606.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Laitinen, L.A., Laitinen, M.V.A. & Widdicombe, J.G. (1987) Parasympathetic nervous control of tracheal vascular resistance in the dog. J Physiol 385, 135–146.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lundberg, J.M. (1990) Peptide and classical transmitter mechanisms in the autonomic nervous system. Arch Int Pharmacodyn 303, 9–19.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lundberg, J.M., Brodin, E., Hua, X-Y. & Saria, A. (1984) Vascular permeability changes and smooth muscle contraction in relation to capsaicin sensitive substance P afferents in the guinea-pig. Acta Physiol Scand 120,217–227.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lundberg, J.M., Saria, A. Lundblad, L., Angard, A., Martling, C-R., Theodorsson-Norheim, E., Stjarne, P. & Hokfelt, T. (1987) Bioactive peptides in capsaicin sensitive C-fibre afferents of the airways: functional and pathophysiological implications. In: The airways: neural control in health and disease, edited by Kaliner, M.A. Barnes, P.J. Marcel Dekker, New York, p. 417–445.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lung, M.A. & Widdicombe, J.G. (1987) Lung reflexes and nasal vascular resistance in the anaesthetized dog. J Physiol 386, 465–474.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Matran, R. (1991) Neural control of lower airway vasculature. Acta Physiol Scand 142, 1–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McDonald, D.M. (1987) Neurogenic inflammation in the respiratory tract: Actions of sensory nerve mediators on blood vessels and epithelium of the airway mucosa. Am Rev Respir Dis 136, S65–S71.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McDonald, D.M. (1992) Effects of infection on neurogenic micro-vascular permeability in the airway. Am Rev Respir Dis 146, S40–S44.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mortola, J.P., Sant’ Ambrogio, G. & Clement, M.G. (1975) Localization of irritant receptors in the airways of the dog. Respir. Physiol 24, 107–114.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Paintal, A.S. (1955) Impulses in vagal afferent fibres from specific pulmonary deflation receptors. The response of these receptors to phenyl diguanide, potato starch, 5-hydroxytryptamine and nicotine, and their role in respiratory and cardiovascular reflexes. Q J Exp Physiol 40, 89– 111.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Paintal, A.S. (1986) The visceral sensations -some basic mechanisms. In: Visceral sensation, edited by Cervero, F. & Morrisson, J.F.B. Elsevier, Amsterdam, p. 3–19.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Perl, E.R. (1984) Pain and nociception. In: Handbook of Physiology, Section 1, The Nervous System, Vol 3, Sensory Processes, Part 2, Ed Davian-Smith, I. American Physiological Society, Bethesda, pp.915– 975.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, A.M., Kaufman, M.P., Baker, D.G., Brown, J.K., Coleridge, H.M. & Coleridge, J.C.G. (1981) Reflex tracheal contraction induced by stimulation of bronchial C-fibres in dogs. J Appl Physiol 51, 485–493.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, A.M., Coleridge, H.M., & Coleridge, J.C.G. (1988) Reciprocal action of pulmonary vagal afferents on tracheal smooth muscle tension in dogs. Respir Physiol 72, 35–46.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sahin, G., Webber, S.E. & Widdicombe, J.G. (1987) Lung and cardiac reflex actions on the tracheal vasculature in anaesthetized dogs. J Physiol, 387, 47–57.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sant’ Ambrogio, G., Remmers, J.E., De Groot, W.A., Callas, G. & Mortola, J.P. (1978) Localization of rapidly adapting receptors in the trachea and main stem bronchus of the dogs. Respir Physiol 33, 359–366.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saria, A., Martling, C.R., Yan, Z., Theodorsson-Norheim, E., Gamse, R. & Lundberg, J.M. (1988) Release of multiple tachykinins from capsaicin-sensitive nerves in the lung by bradykinin, histamine, dimethyl-phenylpiperazinium, and vagal nerve stimulation. Am Rev Respir Dis 137, 1330–1335.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shimura S. & Takishima T. (1994) Airway Submucosal Gland Secretion. In: Airway Secretion: Physiological bases for the control of mucous hypersecretion. Ed Takishima, T. and Shimura, S. Marcel Dekker, New York. 325–398.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stransky, A., Szereda-Przestaszewska, M. & Widdicombe, J.G. (1973) The effects of lung reflexes on laryngeal resistance and motoneurone discharge. J Physiol 231, 417–438.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tatar, M., Webber, S.E., & Widdicombe, J.G. (1988) Lung C-fibre receptor activation and defensive reflexes in anaesthetized cats. J Physiol 402, 411–420.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tomori, Z. & Widdicombe, J.G. (1969) Muscular, bronchomotor and cardiovascular reflexes elicited by mechanical stimulation of the respiratory tract. J Physiol 200, 25–49.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Widdicombe, J.G. (1989) Nervous receptors in the tracheobronchial tree airway smooth muscle reflexes. In: Airway smooth muscle in health and disease, edited by Coburn, R.F. Plenum Press, New York, p. 35–53.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology, St George’s Hospital Medical School, Cranmer Terrace, London, SW17 0RE, UK

    John Widdicombe

Authors
  1. John Widdicombe
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of California, Davis, Davis, California, USA

    C. Tissa Kappagoda  & Marc P. Kaufman  & 

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1995 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Widdicombe, J. (1995). Pathophysiology of Bronchial Asthma. In: Kappagoda, C.T., Kaufman, M.P. (eds) Control of the Cardiovascular and Respiratory Systems in Health and Disease. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 381. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1895-2_3

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-1895-2_3

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-5773-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-1895-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation