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Specific airway conductance (sGaw) was measured during quiet breathing and during panting in 21 normal subjects and 10 patients with obstructive lung disease. The direct method used does not require measuring thoracic gas volume (TGV). Coefficients of variation were 5.5% for panting and 5.1% for quiet breathing. Interobserver variability was 4.7% in the quiet-breathing method and 6.3% in the panting method. The two methods gave equivalent results for sGaw. A slightly greater sGaw was found by the panting method in normal subjects with the highest sGaw values, probably due to widening of the oropharynx-glottis during panting. In six normal subjects studied for intrasubject variability over time, no significant diurnal or day-to-day variability was seen by either method. We conclude that the quiet-breathing method is a simple valid means of determining sGaw and utilizes a physiological respiratory maneuver. Obviation of the need to measure TGV is advantageous. Results are equivalent to those of the panting method and variability is similar.