Anatomical variability in the upper tracheobronchial tree: sex-based differences and implications for personalized inhalation therapies
Simoni Christou, Thanasis Chatziathanasiou, Stelios Angeli, Pantelis Koullapis, Fotos Stylianou, Josué Sznitman, H. Henry Guo, Stavros C. Kassinos
Abstract
We found significant sex-based morphometric differences in the central airways of healthy men and women that were only mildly attenuated in subsets matched for lung volume. Lumen areas were significantly larger in men (∼30%-50%). Large variability (∼75%-87%) in airway bifurcation angles (60°-122°) was found irrespective of sex. The branching pattern of the right main and right upper bronchi in women (but not in men) follows two phenotypes modulated by lung volume.
Topics & Concepts
AirwayLumen (anatomy)LungMedicineInhalationSex characteristicsLung volumesBranching (polymer chemistry)AnatomyPhysiologyInternal medicineAnesthesiaChemistryOrganic chemistryInhalation and Respiratory Drug DeliveryAsthma and respiratory diseasesChronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Research