Abstract
The function of the respiratory tract is gas exchange; the respiratory mucosa is continually exposed to the inhaled air and its contaminants, in the form of dust particles, bacteria and toxic gases. To function normally under most conditions, the respiratory tract has become specialized, developing the necessary defence mechanisms to prevent the otherwise inevitable dehydration, damage or clogging of the delicate pulmonary tissue. The defence mechanisms of the lungs can be arbitrarily divided into two categories; the specific mechanisms, often mediated by the immunological responses of the lung, and the nonspecific mechanisms. The latter include the aerodynamic filtration by the nasal chambers and the removal from the lungs of respiratory tract fluids with the deposited contaminants, by mucociliary transport or coughing. (Brain et al., 1977; Wanner, 1977).
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© 1982 Plenum Press, New York
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Sanderson, M.J., Sleigh, M.A. (1982). The Function of Respirator Tract Cilia. In: Bonsignore, G., Cumming, G. (eds) The Lung in Its Environment. Ettore Majorana International Science Series, vol 6. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-3971-7_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-3971-7_6
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