Re: Are there any specific ways of slicing a piece of aveoli one cell thick?

Hi!  In response to your question, you have assigned yourself a rather
difficult task.  Firstly, constriction of bronchioles is regarded as the
main problem in asthma; the alveoli themselves are not primarily involved.
 So you probably would want to compare the appearance and diameter of
bronchioles of a normal subject with those of a subject following an asthma
attack.  This could be done in an animal model of asthma, using rats or
mice.  However, when the lungs are removed from an anesthetized animal,
they collapse, so that the true dimensions of lung structures are
distorted.  Probably the best way to study this question would be to expose
a rat to an allergen that provokes bronchiolar constriction, anesthetize
the rat, put the rat on a mechanical ventilator so that the lungs don't
collapse, and perfuse the rat with a fixative like formaldehyde to preserve
the lungs.  They could then be removed, embedded in paraffin or plastic,
and thin sections of the lungs could be prepared using a cutting device
called a microtome.  This procedure  is impossible using just a scalpel.
Another approach to your school project is to simply review the scientific
literature about asthma and do a report.  A good website for medical
literature is www.pubmed.gov.  type in the words asthma and etiology and
you can find out the latest information.  Good luck!