Vol. 3, Issue 1, Part A (2021)

The present study was conducted to examine the effects of cigarette smoking on trachea. The experimental study was carried out on 16 male albino rats which were randomly assigned into two groups (N=8), control group and smoking group. A digital smoking machine was developed to carry smoking experiment, so that 1 cigarette/rat/day for 30 consecutive days was followed. A further period of one-month non-exposure (cessation) to smoking was followed as a recovery stage from the effects of cigarette and waterpipe smoking. Following each period, histological studies were performed. Results showed that control sections had shown healthy ciliated pseudostratified columnar epithelium, and all other layers normally seen in tracheal tissue. The tracheal mucosa of smoking group was adversely affected; showing an increase in the number of epithelial cells, amalgamation of cilia, presence of inclusion bodies, and heavy lymphocytic infiltration among the epithelial layer was observed. Recovery of cigarette smoking induced some improvements through reducing the level of inflammation and restoring the changes in columnar cells, cilia, and goblet cells with a slight separation in the respiratory epithelium. Taken together, cigarette smoking is associated with adverse health effects on trachea. It was found that in most of changes detected, quitting smoking was essential to revert most changes.