Now in our 13th year of bringing you beautiful imagery from biomedical science every day

Search the archive of over 4000 images

Brains and Airways
25 January 2018

Brains and Airways

Your lungs are lined with cells coated with tiny hairs, known as cilia. They beat with a whip-like motion, propelling moisturising mucus around the airways. Cilia are also found on cells in other fluid-filled spaces, such as cavities in the brain known as ventricles and the fallopian tubes in the female reproductive system. Faulty cilia are implicated in several human lung diseases, including cystic fibrosis and asthma. And people with a disease called primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) suffer from excessive fluid in the brain, lung problems and infertility. The image on the left shows cells lining a brain ventricle in a healthy mouse, with the delicate cilia highlighted in green. The ventricle cells on the right are from an animal lacking a gene that makes a protein called CEP164. These mice have many of the same problems as people with PCD, suggesting that this gene is involved in the condition.

Written by Kat Arney

Search The Archive

Submit An Image

Follow on Tumblr

Follow on Instagram

What is BPoD?

BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

Read More

BPoD is also available in Catalan at www.bpod.cat with translations by the University of Valencia.