• While the term chronic bronchitis (CB) was first used to describe chronic bronchial inflammation, the term is now used to describe chronic bronchial inflammation associated with mucus hypersecretion.
• The presence of chronic airway inflammation without the presence of excessive quantities of mucus should not be classified as CB.
• To have CB the dog or cat must have been coughing for at least 2 of the previous 12 months.
• The production of excessive quantities of airway mucus should be demonstrable on bronchoscopy.
• If tissue is made available for histopathology, there should be evidence of airway wall thickening, an increase in goblet cell numbers and mucus gland size, widespread loss of ciliated epithelium, and squamous cell hyperplasia.

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