ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION During inhalation exposures, the dose delivered to airway tissues is determined by the aerosol regional deposition. Particle deposition patterns in the human upper respiratory tract (including the nose) are well understood, both from a theoretical and an experimental perspective (1-8). These deposition patterns are also correlated with aerosol deposition patterns in the rodent upper respiratory tract (9-14). Such human-to-rodent correlations are made based on the key assumption that rodent inhalation exposures are a useful surrogate to human exposures. This chapter addresses this key assumption by asking the following question: Just how useful are rodent data in gaining insight into human response from particle dose to the nose and upper airways?
