Affiliations: [a] Unité de Fhysiopathologie Respiratoire INSERM U14, 54511 Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy, France | [b] Service Commun Régional 3 INSERM, 54511 Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy, France
Note: [1] This paper was presented at the 4th International Congress of Biorheology, Tokyo, 1981.
Note: [] Accepted by: Editor A. Silberberg and Guest Editor T. Takishima
Abstract: Spinability of normal mucus and of sputum collected in chronic bronchitic patients was measured using an automatic device derived from that developed by Chretien et al (1977) for cervical mucus. Spinability of sputum decreased as the purulence increased. Although significant correlations were found between spinability and apparent viscosity (r=−0.50, p<0.05) or elasticity (r=0.54, P<0.02), large variations in spinability were observed for sputum samples ranging in a zone of low viscosity and elasticity. Sputum with high spinability exhibited normal transport rate on the depleted frog palate although their viscosity and elasticity were abnormally low. The significant correlation obtained between spinability and sputum transport rate (r=0.61, p<0.01) suggests that this rheological factor, along with viscosity and elasticity, plays an important role in the mucociliary transport mechanism.
Keywords: Respiratory mucus, spinability, viscoelasticity, mucociliary transport
DOI: 10.3233/BIR-1983-20214
Journal: Biorheology, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 239-249, 1983
