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T hicke ned hyalin e tr ache al membra ne simila r to that which occurs with severa l respira to ry co ndi tio ns in man was seen in Rhe su s mo nkeys. Th e memb ran e was cosi no­ phili c a nd up to 50.4 urn thic k. Freq uentl y eosino p hils a nd mast ce lls were seen in th e trach ea l mucosa a nd submucos a. Using fluore scent microscop y, IgG, B 1C, B1A a nd a l­ bumin were identifi ed in the membran e. Electro n micr oscop y sho wed tha t t he membrane was co mposed of I8.8-nm co llage n-like fib r ils wit h occasional peri odicity. T he ca use of t he t hicke ned hyalin e tr acheal mem bran e could not be determ ined . T he cha nges pr oba bly represent a response to mil d repe a ted or co nti nuou s trac hea l inj ury ow ing to a variety o f causes. De linea tio n of the ca use of thi s pr oce ss in non hu ma n primat es may hclp in the understan d ing o f respirato ry di seases in man. Thic ken in g of th e t rach eal basem ent membran e occ ur s in a va riety o f human d iseases such as ast h ma , chronic b ron chitis, Loeffle r' s sy nd ro me a nd p ulmo nary allergic granu lo ma tosis (2-4, 6, II , 14). In these d iseases it s pa t ho­ ge nes is a nd importan ce a re un kn own , but it may be a resp on se o f t he t ra c hea to chro nic mu co sal injury. The th ickened membran e is co mposed o f hyal ine mat eri al a nd is ind uce d by a hype rsen siti vit y sta te (3) . Immunoglobulin s ha ve been identifi ed in thi ck en ed br onchi al ba sem ent membranes (4, I I). Other ca uses o f trach eal ba sement membrane thi ck ening a re endopara ­ sites , whi ch a re rep orted to produce hyper sen siti vity (7, 13). Verminou s pn eu ­ monia in sea lions (7) often is accomp a n ied by a n eosi no phi lic hyaline ma­ teri al adj acent to th e ba sement membran e o f th e trach ea a nd large br on chi . lnfrequentl y, human asthma has been a tt ributed t o inh al ati on o f house mit es in du st , wh ic h th en act a s a so urce o f allergen as d o non-li vin g materi al s (8) . Snee zing a nd co ug hi ng a re associated wit h a cariasis in O ld World primat es (10) ; but no a lle rgic sy nd ro me o r tr ach eal basem ent thi ck en ing was rep o rt ed . Thi s paper describes t hicke ned tr ach eal basem ent membra nes in 90 Rh esu s monkeys.