Functions and components

Transport and exchanges of respiratory gasses,

warming and humidification of the inspired air,
defense, elimination of the mucus and foreign particles

Conducting portion
• nasal cavities
Respiratory portion
• nasopharynx
• terminal branches of
• larynx
the bronchial tree
• tracheea
• lung alveoli
• bronchi
• bronchioles
 Respiratory epithelium
 Pseudostratified,
ciliated
 Thick basement
membrane
 Cells
 Ciliated
 Goblet
 With microvilli
 Serous
 Basal
 Intermediate
 Neuroendocrine
Respiratory epithelium
STEM
Endocrine
cells
 Nasal cavities
 Outer side: skin
 Inner side: nasal
mucosa
 Vestibule, respiratory
area, olfactory area
 Vestibule
 Stratified non-cornified
squamous epithelium
 Lamina propria: dense
irregular connective
tissue
 Hair follicles, sebaceous
glands, sweat glands,
mucus-secreting glands
 Respiratory area

• respiratory epithelium
• thick basement membrane
• lamina propria: dense
irregular connective tissue
Lamina propria, seromucous glands
Blood vessels, inferior
turbinate

Junction between vomer and

maxilla, joined by dense
connective tissue
Littré area (Kisselbach),
vascular plexus
Vomeronasal organ of Jacobson
 Vestigial
 Location: under the
mucosa of the inferior
part of the septum
 Maximum development:
week 20
 Adult: 0.2-0.6 cm2
 Tubular structures,
columnar epithelium,
cells with microvilli
 Function: uncertain in Jacobson, fetus, human, 22 weeks
human
Transition from the respiratory to olfactory
 Bone

Glands

Nerves

Olfactory epithelium
Nasal cavity, olfactory area
 Paranasal sinuses, nasopharynx
 Paranasal sinuses
 Maxillar, frontal, ethmoidal, sphenoidal
 Respiratory epithelium with few goblet cells
 Lamina propria: connective tissue, continues with the
periosteum, few small glands, without vascular
plexus
 Drain into nasal cavities
 Nasopharynx
 Epithelium: respiratory 40%, stratified squamous
non-cornified 55%, transition 5%
 Lamina propria: pharyngeal tonsil, sero-mucous
glands that extend into the muscle layer
 Epiglottis
 Central core
 Elastic cartilage
 Dense irregular
connective tissue
 Sero-mucous glands
 Lingual side
 Stratified squamous non-
cornified epithelium
 Taste buds
 Laryngeal side
 Respiratory and
transition epithelium
 Larynx
 Cartilages joined by fibro-elastic
tissue
 Mucosa
 Respiratory epithelium
 Vocal folds: stratified
squamous non-cornified
epithelium, elastic core
 Transition: intermediate
epithelium
 Lamina propria: elastic fibers,
glands
 Large cartilages: hyaline
 Small cartilage: elastic
 Adventitia: loose connective tissue
 Trachea
 Tubular organ
 Layers
 mucosa
 submucosa
 fibrocartilage
 adventitia
 Criteria
 Tubular in cross section
 Stratified wall
 Cartilage rings,
incomplete on the
posterior side
Trachea, HE
 Layers
 Mucosa
 Respiratory epithelium
 Thick, acidophilic basement membrane
 Lamina propria: loose connective tissue, fixed and
wandering cells, glands, blood vessels
 Submucosa
 Dense irregular connective tissue
 Elastic fibers
 Fibrocartilage
 Hyaline cartilage, fibroelastic tissue
 Posterior: tracheal muscle
 Adventitia: loose connective tissue, blood vessels,
lymphatics and nerve fibers
Trachea
 E M

G
V

V
Tracheal
muscle
Orcein Silver staining
 Lungs - development
 Primordia: endodermal
 Proliferate into the mesenchyme, branches
 Muscle cells, cartilage, lymphoid tissue:
mesenchyme
 Embryo: ducts lined by immature epithelium and
mesenchymal stroma
 Lung alveoli: late during pregnancy, expansion at
birth
 Differentiation and formation of alveoli: continues
till 4 years
 Phase Week Event
Embryonal 4-6 Căile
Pseudoglandular 6-15 Bronchioles
Canalicular 16-28 Acini
Saccular 29-36 Sacs
Alveolar 36-4 y. Alveoli
 General structure
 Ducts and parenchyma
 From trachea to terminal
bronchioles: 20 generations
of bronchi
 Lobes and segments
 Lobes: separated each
other, covered by pleura
 Segment: parenchyma that
corresponds to a segmental
bronchi
 Acinus: parenchyma that
corresponds to a terminal
bronchiole
 Lobul: 3-10 acini
 Bronchi
 Extrapulmonar – intrapulmonar
 Layers
 Mucosa
 Epithelium and lamina propriety with elastic fibers
 Muscularis
 Smooth muscle cells
 Submucosa
 Loose connective tissue, glands, lymphoid tissue limfoid
 Cartilage
 Hyaline cartilage – complete rings in large bronchi,
discontinuous in medium and small, absent in
bronchioles
 Adventitia
 Loose connective tissue with many elastic fibers
Bronchi Bronchiole Alveola
 Lobar bronchi

mucosa

cartilage muscularis

submucosa

adventitia
Segmental bronchi

Glands
Bronchi, epithelium
Glands of the submucosa
Primary bronchi Tertiary bronchi
Small bronchus
 Lambert canal
Communication between
non-respiratory bronchiole
and lung alveoli

Lambert canals hyperplasia

after injury
 Bronchioles
 Intralobular segments
 Diameter <1 mm
 No cartilage, glands or
lymphoid tissue
 Columnar epithelium,
than cuboidal, few
goblet cells (even
absent), Clara cells
 Muscle layer
Bronchiole, reticular
fibers
Branches of the
bronchial tree

Terminal bronchiole
 Bronchiole (1) and
1
terminal bronchiole (2)

2
Terminal bronchiole
 Clara cells
 Numerous in
bronchioles
 Columnar, round apex
 Oval nucleus,
acidophilic cytoplasm
 Mitochondria, REr
 Secrete a basic protein
 Progenitor for epithelial
cells of the bronchiole
Clara cells
 Terminal
bronchiole, orcein
 Respiratory surface
 Respiratory bronchioles, alveolar ducts,
alveolar sacs, alveoli
 Respiratory bronchiole: simple cuboidal epithelium
with scattered alveoli
 Alveolar ducts: branches of respiratory
bronchioles, long, sinuous, discontinuous wall,
simple squamous epithelium
 Alveolar sacs::lined by openings of many alveoli
 Alveoli::300 mil, 140 m2, lined by alveolar
epithelium
 Terminal
bronchiole

Respiratory
bronchiole

Alveolar duct
Respiratory
bronchiole

alveola
Alveolar sac and
alveoli

Alveolar sac
 Alveolar epithelium
 Alveolar cells type I:
 Cover 95% of the respiratory surface
 Intensely stained flat nucleus, thin cytoplasm (simple
squamous epithelium), few organelles located around the
nucleus
 Tight junctions
 Gas exchanges
 Alveolar cells type II:
 Large, polygonal, nucleus with fine granular chromatin,
round, central locate din the cell
 Acidophilic cytoplasm, secrete components of the surfactant
 Cover 5% of the respiratory surface
 EM: lamellar bodies
 Involved in regeneration of the alveolar epithelium
Alveolar cells type 1 and 2

2
 Alveolar cell type II

ME
Apoprotein 1, alveolar cells type 2
 Interalveolar septum and blood-air barrier
Blood-air barrier
Interalveolar  Surfactant
septum  Cytoplasm of alveolar cell
 Elastic fibers type I
 BM of the alveolar
 Reticular fibers epithelium
 Blood capillaries  Loose connective tissue
 Fibroblasts  BM of the endothelium
 Macrophages  Cytoplasm of the
endothelial cell
 Mast cells
 Plasma membrane of the
red blood cell
 Air-blood barrier

HE
Air-blood barrier
Interalveolar septum
Elastic fibers
Reticular fibers
 Lung macrophage
 “dust cell”
 Origin: monocyte
 Septa, alveoli
 Cytoplasm, lysosomes,
vacuoles containing
carbon particles
 Released in airways
 Stored in the subpleural
space
 Smokers!!
 Pathology:
 Cardiac failure
 Macrophage, non-smoker

Macrophage, smoker
 Amilaceous bodies

Without pathologic significance

Blue bodies
 Aging
 Ossification of cartilages
 Adipose metaplasia
 Elastics of the
submucosa
 Oncocytes
 Thickening of the intima
 Calcification of the
media
 Large alveoli
 Perivascular amyloid
 Antrachosis
Metaplazia oncocitară,
frecventă în condiţii normale.
Fără semnificaţie patologică
 Blood supply
 Nutritive
 Bronchial arteries and veins
 Anastomosis with branches of
pulmonary vessels
 Functional
 Pulmonary arteries and veins
 Close to braches of the bronchial
tree
 The best developed capillary
network of the body
 Lymphatic vessels
 In the alveolar septa
 Do not extend to the alveolar
wall
 Drain into the lymph node of the
hilus
 Branch of the pulmonary artery
with two limiting membranes

Branch of the pulmonary vein

with a single limiting membrane
 Nerves
 Sympathetic and
parasympathetic
 Nervous plexus in the hilus
 Nerve endings associated
with alveolar cells type II
 Neuroepithelial bodies:
 At branching of bronchi
 Endocrine cells associated
with nerve fibers that pass
through the BM
 Endocrine: argyrophilic,
fluorescence for 5HT,
receive stimuli from the
lumen
 Biogenic amines, peptides
 Pleura
 Serous membrane
 Epithelial and connective
 Layers: visceral and parietal – pleural cavity
 Structure:
 Mezothelium: simple squamous or simple
cuboidal epithelium, cells with microvilli
 Basement membrane

 Subpleural layer: fibroblasts, fibrocytes, thick

collagen fibers, concentration of elastic fibers;
continues with the pulmonary stromase
continuă cu stroma pulmonară
Visceral pleura
 Mesothelial cell
 Squamous or cuboidal
on sections
 Variable shape on
smears
 Round-oval nucleus,
small nucleolus
 Acidophilic cytoplasm
 Microvilli
 Coexpression of
cytokeratin and
vimentin