Lungs are complex and fascinating organs: Spread out, the lungs would cover roughly an area the size of a tennis court. Sometimes, the bronchi are used synonymously with the lungs. They are, however, only part of a widely branched system that resembles an upside-down tree. How does breathing work? How do the bronchi and lungs protect themselves and what can we do if the self-defence mechanism no longer works?
As the respiratory organ, our lungs are responsible for gas exchange – i.e. for absorbing oxygen and removing carbon dioxide from the body. Interestingly, the lungs act in exactly the opposite way to a tree. A tree absorbs CO2 from the air around it and releases oxygen. Our lungs not only look like an upside-down tree, they also act like one: They absorb oxygen from the atmosphere and release CO2 back.
The bronchi are a key part of the lungs. However, the lungs and the bronchi are not one and the same – even if they are often used synonymously in layman terms. The branches in the form of bronchi and bronchioles allow the number of alveoli and also their total surface area to be increased. This leads to more efficient gas exchange. This means that the oxygen can more easily enter the blood and allow the carbon dioxide to be more easily transported out of the body.
Why do we need mucus in the bronchi and why is it essentially something good? It is also important to understand two mechanisms that protect our lungs by supporting the wide network of branches in the bronchi and bronchioles, each finer than the last:
We also breathe in dust particles and other foreign bodies with the ambient air every day. Without the fine branches, these could reach the deep areas of our lungs without meeting any resistance. Thanks to the branching, they bulge against the walls of the branches of the lungs. This process is called impaction.
In the small branches of the airways, the speed of the air we inhale slows down. This deposits foreign bodies such as dust particles, viruses or allergens which are heavier than the air we breathe onto the walls of the bronchi or bronchioles.
In combination, impaction and sedimentation protect the deep parts of the lungs from foreign bodies such as viruses, dust particles or pollen, which could otherwise reach the sensitive alveoli.
What happens to the foreign bodies that stick on the walls of our bronchi and bronchioles through impaction and sedimentation? This is where a genius self-clearing mechanism comes into play: mucociliary clearance. The mucosal membrane that covers our bronchi and bronchioles ensures that the foreign bodies stick to the walls. Tiny hairs – known as cilia – whip back and forth in waves to remove the foreign bodies from the lungs like a conveyor belt.
Dry central heating or cold, dry air in winter can dry out the mucous membranes in our airways. This impairs their self-clearing function. This, in turn, makes us more susceptible to disease.
Our protective mechanism can turn on us if it produces too much mucus. This is referred to as a mucus build-up in the bronchi. Infections, allergens, tobacco smoke or environmental pollution can all trigger an inflammatory response. The mucus glands then respond to these inflammations by producing more mucus to moisten and protect the airways. The mucus then collects in the bronchi, for example, which can lead to a cough with sputum – as is the case in bronchitis, for example – through to shortness of breath. There are also chronic respiratory diseases, such as COPD, where mucus production is constantly increased.
Inhalation with saline solution is a tried-and-tested method to clear the airways of excess mucus or to moisten and soothe them. Hypertonic saline solution is used to clear mucus out of the bronchi. To soothe and moisten the bronchi, it is best to use isotonic saline solution.
Inhalation solutions with natural ectoine are of particular interest. This natural substance also forms an additional protective coating over the airways and has a mildly anti-inflammatory effect.
As shown above, the lungs resemble an upside-down tree. The fine branches (bronchi) and the finest twigs (bronchioles) are used to achieve efficient gas exchange. The fine branching also protects the lungs and ensures that, aside from oxygen, as little as possible of other substances can reach the deeper areas of the lungs. This, unfortunately, also applies to the fine mist that we want to transport into the bronchi and bronchioles with the inhalation therapy.
As specialists for effective inhalation therapy, we have been working for decades on delivering aerosols more efficiently to the areas of the lungs they are designed to treat. The result is a sophisticated portfolio of nebulisers designed to work hand-in-hand with the anatomy of the airways. Read more about the different PARI nebulisers and their uses here.
Lungs are complex and fascinating organs. The bronchi are a key part of the lungs and form, in our tree analogy, the branches. The walls of the airways and thus also the bronchi are coated with a mucous membrane. These protect from harmful environmental influences, such as viruses, dust particles and allergens. If too much mucus is produced, inhaling a hypertonic saline solution can help. If the air is dry, it can help to keep the mucous membranes moist and protected with isotonic saline solution. In both cases, the natural substance ectoine provides a helping hand.
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