Cellular constituents of clinically normal foal bronchoalveolar lavage fluid during postnatal maturation
Zink, M.C.; Johnson, J.A.
American Journal of Veterinary Research 45(5): 893-897
1984
ISSN/ISBN: 0002-9645 PMID: 6732021 Document Number: 238396
Bronchoalveolar lavage was performed 5 times, sequentially, on 3 healthy foals when each was between 2 and 63 days of age. Total and differential counts were performed on recovered cells. The lungs of foals less than 19 days of age contained few alveolar macrophages recoverable by bronchoalveolar lavage. This number increased sharply during the first 2 to 3 weeks of life, but remained relatively constant subsequently. Approximately 86% of the alveolar cells in the lungs of foals up to 3 weeks of age were alveolar macrophages. During the first 2 months of life, this number decreased to approximately 71%, whereas the relative percentage of lymphocytes increased from 5% to 20%.