if the bronchioles are dilated the anatomic dead space and tidal volume will

The diameter of the bronchioles plays an important role in air flow. Terminal bronchioles mark the end of the conducting division of air flow in the respiratory system while respiratory bronchioles are the beginning of the respiratory division where gas exchange takes place. Terminal bronchioles in turn divide into smaller respiratory bronchioles which divide into alveolar ducts. Bronchioles are approximately 1 mm or less in diameter and their walls consist of ciliated cuboidal epithelium and a layer of smooth muscle.īronchioles divide into even smaller bronchioles, called terminal, which are 0.5 mm or less in diameter. The pulmonary lobule is the portion of the lung ventilated by one bronchiole. Each respiratory bronchiole supplies the alveoli held in each acinus accompanied by a pulmonary artery branch. Structure A lobule of the lung enclosed in septa and supplied by a terminal bronchiole that branches into the respiratory bronchioles. The bronchioles no longer contain the cartilage that is found in the bronchi, or glands in their submucosa. They include the terminal bronchioles, and finally the respiratory bronchioles that mark the start of the respiratory zone delivering air to the gas exchanging units of the alveoli.

The bronchioles or bronchioli (pronounced bron-kee-oh-lee) are the smaller branches of the bronchial airways in the lower respiratory tract.

If the bronchioles are dilated the anatomic dead space and tidal volume will