The Pathophysiology of Asthma: Inflammation of Airways
While the bronchoconstriction observed following acute antigen challenge in the guinea pig is not associated with airway edema, inflammatory edema probably plays an important role in human disease. Analysis of the protein in the bronchial mucus plugs from asthmatic patients shows large amounts of albumin and large numbers of inflammatory cells which strongly suggest that an inflammatory exudate enters the airways lumen. The study of nonimmunologically-induced inflammatory reaction in the airways of animals has provided several insights