Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
3
pubmed:dateCreated
1988-5-31
pubmed:abstractText
Stereologic methods were used to study lung development in sheep from 2 to 171 days of age. Most growth occurs within the first 2 months when there is a threefold increase in lung volume, but allometric relationships show that this increase does not keep pace with body weight. Alveolar and capillary surface areas increase as lung volume to a power only slightly larger than 1, suggesting a modest increase in complexity; this is confirmed by only a two- to threefold increase in total alveolar number. Allometric power functions are essentially unchanged even during the first 30 days so that throughout development, the surface for gas exchange is added at a fairly constant rate. A slight increase in septal volume during the first 30 days is probably due to relative increase in capillary luminal volume through a progressive distension of capillaries. The results suggest that the active newborn lamb requires an alveolar lung, but in the postnatal period functional needs increase only moderately. In contrast, other mammals, such as the rat, are helpless as newborns and have a primitive saccular lung that must undergo considerable morphogenesis to meet the demands of the active adult.
pubmed:grant
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Mar
pubmed:issn
0003-276X
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
220
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
281-6
pubmed:dateRevised
2007-11-14
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
1988
pubmed:articleTitle
Postnatal growth of the sheep lung: a morphometric study.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Pathology, Children's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S., Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't