Propagation and breakup of liquid menisci and aerosol generation in small airways.

Background: Droplets exhaled during normal breathing and not associated with coughing may pose hazardous agents to infective diseases dissemination. The objective is to explore the physical mechanism, which may lead to droplets formation.

Methods: We hypothesize that liquid menisci occlusions, which may form inside small airways, travel along the airway, may lose mass and finally disintegrate into small droplets.