THE ANATOMICAL RECORD 221:780-781(1988)

Construction of a Flexible Airway Model

for Teaching
P.M. WANG AND STEVE S. KRAMAN
VA Medical Center and Department of Medicine, University of Kentucky,
Lexington, Kentucky 40511

ABSTRACT A method of producing flexible and strong models of canine airways

is described. The animal’s lungs are dried in inflation by using compressed air and
then filled with silicone sealer. After this compound dries, the lung tissue is removed
by corrosion by using NAOH. The result is a rugged, flexible, and anatomically
faithful model of canine airways that is suitable for use in teaching.

The anatomy of the lung is taught to students of med-

icine, anatomy, physiology, respiratory therapy, and
nursing. Teaching models are frequently employed al-
though these seem to be limited to the head, neck, glot-
tis, and major airways. Generally, words and pictures
are used to convey to the students the conformation and
appearance of the respiratory system. Micrographs, al-
though displaying valuable information about the fine
architecture of the smaller elements of the lung, fail to
give the student a clear idea of the size and spatial
relationships involved. Hard plastic models and detailed
“cutaway” drawings help correct this failing but do not
allow the tactile experience that helps in the apprecia-
tion of a delicate structure.
Researchers have constructed airway casts for various
purposes. These casts are beautiful and instructive but
are either delicate or difficult of make and so are un-
likely to be used for teaching. The construction of flexi-
ble casts has also been described in the literature. Frank Fig. 1. Side view of a pair of canine lungs that had been air dried at
and Yoder (1966) produced Silastic casts in the 1960s. 22 cm H20 pressure. In appearance, texture, and density, they are
similar to Styrofoam.
They regulated the degree to which the smaller airways
were filled by varying the viscosity of the casting com-
pound as determined by trial and error. Phalen et al.
(1973) used silicone rubber compounds to cast the air- tions and then suspended from the trachea by a support
ways in situ, resulting in casts that retained the shape so that they do not touch any surfaces (which may pre-
imposed by the chest wall. Their technique was compli- vent drying at the point of contact). A hose connected to
cated by the necessity of degassing the lungs first to a source of compressed air is then attached to the tra-
avoid the formation of bubbles in the final cast. chea and, via a “Y”connector, t o a water manometer to
Our goal was to develop a simple method which would allow the measurement and adjustment of the air pres-
produce a flexible and rugged cast of dog airways that sure. The compressed air should be slowly turned on and
would require no special equipment or techniques and the lung inflated until a pressure of approximately 20
would be useful in teaching airway anatomy. Casts of cm HzO is achieved. It will be noticed that a constant
the airways of other species should be as easily made. air flow is maintained through the lungs, the gas appar-
These casts are not meant to be suitable for accurate ently passing through microscopic pores in the pleura.
morphometric analyses but are very useful for teaching In our experience with dog, rat, and human lungs, it is
the anatomy of the lungs. unnecessary to puncture the pleura. The lungs are left
connected to the air hose for 12-24 hours, after which,
TECHNIQUE when completely dry, they will be very similar in ap-
The technique consists of three steps: drying, injection, pearance and feel to Styrofoam (Fig. 1).The lungs may
and corrosion. Animal lungs may be obtained from oth- then be removed from the air hose and handled. If kept
ers who are engaged in animal research that ends in the
death of the animal. Dog lungs are very easy to acquire Received August 3, 1987; accepted October 2, 1987.
within schools of medicine. The lungs should be fresh or P.M. Wang is a visiting scholar fromthe People’s Republic of China.
refrigerated and be intact and free of obvious disease. Address reprint requests to Dr. S.S. Kraman, Chief of Staff, VAMC
They should be washed and irrigated to remove secre- Ul), Cooper Dr., Lexington, KY 40511.

0 1988 ALAN R. LISS, INC.

 CONSTRUCTION OF A FLEXIBLE AIRWAY MODEL 781
dry,the organs should last for months or longer.
In order to produce an airway cast that is pliable and
rugged, we chose to use silicone sealer or caulking com-
pound (General Electric Co., Silicone Products Div.,
Waterford, NY 12188).This is readily available in white
or clear. Since approximately 300-600 ml of the mate-
rial must be injected under pressure, a cartridge and
injector should be used. The nozzle is inserted into the
trachea and sealed tightly with heavy tape such as duct
tape. Then the silicone sealer is injected until the lung
is filled. Some experience and care is necessary at this
stage because it is possible to fill the terminal bronchi,
thereby surrounding and obscuring the central airways.
Once the injection is finished, the injector is removed
from the trachea and the lung is put under a hood or
outdoors to dry. It should not be left in a poorly venti-
lated area since the solvent in the silicone sealer is toxic
and flammable.
After approximately 3 days at room temperature, the
lung tissue may be removed by corrosion. Either acid or
alkali may be used for this purpose. We have been using
NAOH 20%, which works very well. The lung is left
immersed in the solution for 12-24 hours or until all of
the lung tissue is removed. The resulting cast is then
dried. Figure 2a,b shows an example of the finished
product.
Despite the fact that the silicone shrinks during the
drying process, the casts are remarkably faithful to the
airway anatomy and will take a reasonable amount of
handling without breakage. It is usual for some addi-
tional evaporation of the silicone solvent to occur over
the first few weeks, and this may result in some distor-
tion of the large central airway regions. "he smaller
airways retain their size and configuration well. The
greatest difficulty that we have encountered is the need
to lend the models to others, the solution to which was
to make several and give some away.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Supported by the Veterans Administration.
LITERATURE CITED
Frank, N.R., and R.E. Yoder 1966 A method of making a flexible cast
of the lung. J. Appl. Physiol., 21:1925-1926.
Phalen, R.F., Hsu-Chi Yeh, O.G. Raabe, and D.J. Velasquez 1973 Cast-
ing of lungs in situ. Anat Rec., 177:255-264.

Fig. 2. Appearance of the finished cast. a: Entire cast. b: Magnified

view of smaller bronchi and bronchioles.