Effect of Cigarette Smoke on Particle Transport on Nasociliary Mucosa of Donkeys

Abstract

The effects of whole cigarette smoke on the transport of particles on the nasociliary mucosa oflhe donkey were studied. The time required for a ˜O.4-mm radioactive resin bead to pass between two reference points was determined for normal conditions and after exposure to whole cigarette smoke in two exposure modes, (1) continuous injection into 20 parts of dilution air and (2) injection of a 40-ml bolus into the inhaled airstream at 10-second intervals. Exposures of up to 30 cigarettes in either mode produced no measurable effects on the beads’ mucociliary transport rates. This indicates that the nasociliary mucosa is much more resistant to cigarette smoke than the tracheobronchial tree, since previous experiments on donkeys demonstrated that exposure to the smoke from 20 cigarettes produced a marked retardation in particle transport in the trachea.