Bronchial Glands: Age, Regional and Individual Structural Features

The aim was to study the quantitative indicators and structure of the distribution of the glands in human main bronchi in the age aspect.
Material and methods. The object of the study was the glands in the walls of the main bronchi, obtained as a single complex together with the lower part of the trachea, including the area of bifurcation. Samples were taken from 110 corpses of people in the age range from the neonatal period to 87 years (10 observations in each age group), who died from causes not related to the pathology of the respiratory system and did not have pathological changes in the respiratory system at autopsy. For micro-macroscopy using an MBS-9 binocular microscope, the glands in the walls of the main bronchi were selectively stained with methylene blue according to R.D. Sinelnikov, followed by fixation in a saturated solution of ammonium picric acid. The following characteristics were analyzed: the shape of the glands, their total number on the total preparation, the density of their location (the number of the mouths of the excretory ducts per 1 cm2), the width of their initial section. Due to the normal distribution of the data, the methods of parametric statistics based on the Statistica 6.0 program were used for statistical data processing. Statistical data processing included the calculation of the arithmetic mean indicators, their errors, the analysis of the amplitude of the variation series of each indicator was carried out.
Results. The performed macro-microscopic examination revealed an asymmetry in the distribution of glands – the number and density of distribution of glands was 1.50–2.10 times higher (p <0.05) for the left bronchus than for the right and 1.56–2.91 (p <0.05) times more in the cartilaginous than in the membranous part. At the same time, the width of the orifice of the gland showed opposite patterns. In terms of age, there was an increase in the number of glands and their size with a maximum by the age of 21–35 and a subsequent decrease by senil age. The distribution density decreased throughout the entire period of life.
Conclusion. The revealed age, regional and individual features of the structure of the glandular apparatus of the main human bronchi may be of interest both in scientific research and in clinical practice, forming a basic description of the structural norm.

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