Development of the Respiratory System (Including the Preterm Infant)

摘要: The developing mammalian lung is challenged by the requisite need for a gas-exchange surface area extensive enough to meet needs of an organism’s oxygen consumption and CO2 removal. This achieved first transformation primitive endoderm into 105 conducting 107 respiratory airways iterative branching morphogenesis, followed subdivision successive maturation terminal alveoli: hundreds millions thin spherical cavities which facilitate gas exchange between vascular system. Since process alveolar formation (alveolarization) occurs largely after birth, premature infants are at increased susceptibility distress, often necessitating prolonged assisted ventilation. Despite major advances in management perinatal infant care, including improved mechanical ventilation modalities, prenatal steroid administration, surfactant therapy, many such do not undergo normal development, resulting chronic disease, bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). An appreciation complex cell molecular interactions govern morphogenesis essential understanding aetiology of—and advancing treatments for—pulmonary diseases as BPD.