摘要：Emphysema, one of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), is characterized as destruction of airway wall and small airway inflammation. To assess the kinetics of disease progression in murine model of elastase-induced emphysema, we used micro-computed tomography (CT) compared with morphological changes. Two week after elastase administration, a significant increase in the volume of low-density areas, recognized as −800—−600 Hounsfield units by micro-CT, was observed. Coefficient of correlation between mean linear intercept (Lm) and low-density area examined by CT, was 0.79 ( p <0.01). Micro-CT can quantitatively and sequentially detect murine emphysematous changes, offering a practical method to sequentially analyze the therapeutic effects of treatments in a murine model of emphysema.
