Respiratory bronchioles are the first airways that take part in gas exchange. They branch from the terminal bronchioles and have scattered alveoli opening from their walls, so they are partly air passage and partly gas exchange surface. Each terminal bronchiole and its respiratory bronchioles, ducts and alveoli form a unit called an acinus.
| Location | Deep in each lung, at the start of the pulmonary acinus, between the terminal bronchioles and the alveolar ducts. |
|---|---|
| Parts |
|
| Nerve Supply | Pulmonary plexus |
| Blood Supply | Pulmonary arterioles; Bronchial artery branches |
Mark the transition from the conducting zone to the respiratory zone, carrying air onwards while beginning gas exchange through the alveoli in their walls.
Smoking damages this region first, and centrilobular emphysema, the typical smoking-related type, begins around the respiratory bronchioles. Inhaled dusts tend to deposit here because airflow slows sharply at this level, which explains the pattern of many occupational lung diseases.
Destruction of the respiratory bronchioles and nearby alveoli, mainly in the upper lobes of smokers. It causes progressive breathlessness.
Accumulation of pigmented macrophages around the respiratory bronchioles in smokers. Rarely, it progresses to an interstitial lung disease.
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