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An experimental investigation to model wheezing in lungs.


ABSTRACT: A quarter of the world's population experience wheezing. These sounds have been used for diagnosis since the time of the Ebers Papyrus (ca 1500 BC). We know that wheezing is a result of the oscillations of the airways that make up the lung. However, the physical mechanisms for the onset of wheezing remain poorly understood, and we do not have a quantitative model to predict when wheezing occurs. We address these issues in this paper. We model the airways of the lungs by a modified Starling resistor in which airflow is driven through thin, stretched elastic tubes. By completing systematic experiments, we find a generalized 'tube law' that describes how the cross-sectional area of the tubes change in response to the transmural pressure difference across them. We find the necessary conditions for the onset of oscillations that represent wheezing and propose a flutter-like instability model for it about a heavily deformed state of the tube. Our findings allow for a predictive tool for wheezing in lungs, which could lead to better diagnosis and treatment of lung diseases.

SUBMITTER: Gregory AL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8074657 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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An experimental investigation to model wheezing in lungs.

Gregory A L AL   Agarwal A A   Lasenby J J  

Royal Society open science 20210224 2


A quarter of the world's population experience wheezing. These sounds have been used for diagnosis since the time of the Ebers Papyrus (<i>ca</i> 1500 BC). We know that wheezing is a result of the oscillations of the airways that make up the lung. However, the physical mechanisms for the onset of wheezing remain poorly understood, and we do not have a quantitative model to predict when wheezing occurs. We address these issues in this paper. We model the airways of the lungs by a modified Starlin  ...[more]

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