The Pores of Kohn are pores between adjacent alveoli, or interalveolar connections. They function as a means of collateral ventilation; that is, if the lung is partially deflated, ventilation can occur to some extent through these pores. The pores also allow the passage of other materials such as fluid and bacteria.
The Pores of Kohn take their name from the German physician Hans Kohn who first described them in 1893.
Famous quotes containing the words pores of and/or pores:
“I am the daughter of Earth and Water,
And the nursling of the Sky;
I pass through the pores of the ocean and shores;
I change, but I cannot die.”
—Percy Bysshe Shelley (17921822)
“The actor who lets the dust accumulate on his Ibsen, his Shakspere [sic], and his Bible, but pores greedily over every little column of theatrical news, is a lost soul.”
—Minnie Maddern Fiske (18651932)