Alveolar structure and function /

Bibliographic Details
Main Author:	Payne, D. Keith
Other Authors:	Wellikoff, Adam
Format:	eBook
Language:	English
Published:	San Rafael, Calif. (1537 Fourth Street, San Rafael, CA 94901 USA) : Morgan and Claypool, [2013]
Series:	Colloquium digital library of life sciences. Colloquium series on integrated systems physiology ; # 37.
Subjects:	Pulmonary alveoli. Pulmonary Alveoli. adaptive immunity alveolar capillary endothelium alveolar epithelium alveolar macrophage alveolus innate immunity interstitial fibroblasts lung development pulmonary gas exchange pulmonary host defenses surfactant terminal respiratory unit Electronic books.
Online Access:	Connect to the full text of this electronic book

Description
Abstract:	In the distal regions of the human lung, one of the most challenging problems facing a large multicellular organism is solved--ensuring an adequate supply of oxygen for aerobic tissue metabolism while removing associated waste products. Conduits for both air and blood converge at the alveolar level to match ventilation with perfusion and thus assure the free diffusion of oxygen and carbon dioxide. Despite their thin walls and their intimate relationship to the pulmonary capillary bed, the alveolus must present a barrier function robust enough to resist alveolar flooding from the hydrostatic pressures generated by the weight of the lungs and the volume of blood in the pulmonary circuit. The strategic position of the alveolar region and its vast associated capillary network ensure its importance in the synthesis and degradation of a wide range of molecules. Finally, the alveoli have evolved important immune functions vital to protecting the host from a variety of inhaled pollutants and microorganisms. Understanding alveolar structure and function is essential not only to appreciate the elegance of the human lung in its pristine state but also to understand the perturbations that underlay many lung diseases.
Item Description:	Electronic resource. Part of: Colloquium digital library of life sciences. Series from website.
Physical Description:	1 online resource (viii, 67 pages) : illustrations Also available in printing.
Format:	Mode of access: World Wide Web. System requirements: Adobe Acrobat reader.
Bibliography:	Includes bibliographical references (pages 57-65).
ISBN:	9781615045051 (electronic bk.)
ISSN:	2154-5626 ;
DOI:	10.4199/C00067ED1V01Y201210ISP037
Access:	Abstract freely available; full-text restricted to subscribers or individual document purchasers.