Question

1) Is the compliance decreased or increased on the above problem?

2) What is the naturally occurring substance that helps keep the alveoli from collapsing?

3) Name the diseases where surfactant may be inactivated in adults?

Answer 1

1-) As described earlier, surfactant helps in reducing surface tension and thereby increases compliance of the lung. An absence of the surfactant leads to a decrease in pulmonary compliance, and this condition is called Newborn respiratory distress syndrome

2-)Surfactant is a complex naturally occurring substance made of six lipids (fats) and four proteins that is produced in the lungs. It can also be manufactured synthetically.

Surfactant reduces the surface tension of fluid in the lungs and helps make the small air sacs in the lungs (alveoli) more stable. This keeps them from collapsing when an individual exhales. In preparation for breathing air, fetuses begin making surfactant while still in the womb. Babies that are born very prematurely often lack adequate surfactant and must receive surfactant replacement therapy immediately after birth in order to breathe.

3-)Pulmonary surfactant is a surface active material composed of both lipids and proteins that is produced by alveolar type II pneumocytes. Abnormalities of surfactant in the immature lung or in the acutely inflamed mature lung are well described. However, in a variety of subacute diseases of the mature lung, abnormalities of lung surfactant may also be of importance. These diseases include chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, cystic fibrosis, interstitial lung disease, pneumonia, and alveolar proteinosis.