Abstract

This report describes the ultrastructural alterations observed in the bronchial mucosa of a 29-year old male patient suffering from chronic upper and lower respiratory tract infections since his childhood and operated due to bronchiectasis and sinusitis. Electron microscopic evaluation of the bronchial biopsy specimens revealed ciliated cells appeared to be replaced by columnar cells lacking cilia and basal bodies, and bearing on their surface ciliumlike projections without any internal axonemal structure. These ultrastructural features are consistent with complete ciliary aplasia which is a rare form of primary ciliary dyskinesia. (Tur Toraks Der 2010; 11: 121-3)