Measurement of upper and lower airway resistance and conductance in man

Abstract

The resistances to flow in the upper (Ruaw) and lower (Rlaw) airway of human lungs were measured simultaneously with total airway resistance (Raw) and the volume of thoracic gas (Vtg) using the plethysmographic method and lateral pressure taps at the tracheal and oral levels. Ruaw is found to decrease slightly in a curvilinear fashion with increasing Vtg while its reciprocal, Guaw, is linearly related to Vtg with a negative Vtg intercept in normal subjects. Lower airway conductance (Glaw) is linearly related to Vtg with a slope of approximately 1.0 liters/sec per cm H2O per liter. From the partitioned resistances it is deduced that total airway conductance (Gaw) is curvilinear but approximately linear over the majority of the Vtg. A method of calculating resistance and conductance in the upper and lower airways from Raw versus Vtg data is presented using the equation Raw = Vtg/(A + B Vtg) where B2/A = dGlaw/dVtg. Three hundred and sixty-two records of Raw versus Vtg data from 22 normal, asthmatic, and bronchitic subjects are then evaluated by this method and the results compared to those obtained by direct measurement.