ExtractTo test the hypothesis that receptors to cold are in the upper air passages, the effect of a change in environmental temperature from a high of 90-95° F to a low of 50-55° F was studied in a group of eight children with a history of chronic asthma before and after applying topical anesthesia to nose and pharynx; nine children without cardiac or pulmonary disease served as control subjects. The forced expiratory volume in 1 sec (FEVi), the maximum voluntary ventilation (MVV), and the maximum expiratory flow rates at 50% (VBO) and 25% (V25) of the vital capacity were used to assess airflow resistance. In the untreated asthmatic there was a significant fall in all test values at the low temperature (P < 0.01), which indicated an increase in airflow resistance. When nose and pharynx of the asthmatic patients were sprayed with lidocaine before decrease of the environmental temperature, there was no significant difference in test results (P > 0.05). These results offer additional evidence in support of the reflex nature of cold-induced bronchoconstriction with cold-sensitive receptors present in the upper airways. Speculation

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The effect of acute obstruction to lymphatic drainage on fluid accumulation in the lungs, pleura, and pericardium was assessed in the intact dog. Catheters were positioned in the venae cavase, right atrium (RA), left atrium (LA), age on fluid accumulation in the lungs, pleura, and pericardium was assessed in the intact dog. Catheters were positioned in the venae cavae, right atrium (RA), left atrium (LA), and aorta (Ao) of nine anesthetized, spontaneouly breathing dogs, and hydrostic and colloid osmotic pressures were continuously monitored. Lymphatic obstruction was achieved by raising systemic venous pressure to either 10 mmHg or 25 mmHg by a combination of fluid infusion and inflation of balloon catheters in the venae cavae for 2 h. The same constant net intravascular filtration pressure was maintained in both groups by appropriate use of saline or colloid-containing fluids. Pleural and pericardial fluids were measured postmortem and lung water content was determined by weighing before and after drying. Failure to detect greater fluid accumulation at the higher obstructing pressure (25 mmHg) than at the lower obstructing pressure (10 mmHg) suggests that over the range of obstructing pressures used there is no acute change in the magnitude of lymphatic drainage in the chest.