We studied the effects of superficial and deep endolaryngeal trauma of the subglottic airway in young and adult rabbits. In both age groups a soft stenosis was formed as long as the cartilaginous cricoid ring is not involved. This stenosis comprised a thickened subepithelial zone of scar tissue, separated from the cricoid cartilage by a layer of fatty tissue. Injury of the internal side of the cricoid cartilage induced a compact mass of scar tissue with local differentiation into fibrocartilage. In young animals only, injury of the cartilage led to remodelling of the cricoid ring (indentation or collapse of the traumatized sectors). On the basis of the differentiating effects of age and depth of the lesion, three histopathological types of subglottic stenosis were distinguished. The experimental results provide an explanation for the variability in the histopathological features of the wall of the stenotic subglottic airway, as observed in biopsies and postmortem specimens.
In young rabbits the effects were studied of an anterior midline and a bilateral split with and without traumatisation of the perichondrium and subperichondrial cartilage on the inner side of the ring. Various interventions produced specific patterns of distortions. It is concluded that release of interlocked stress in the cartilage is of paramount importance for the development of deformities. A specific feature of the circular cartilaginous structure seems to be that the tensile forces on the outer side of the ring exceed those on the inner side.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.