Introduction This chapter provides a snapshot of fetal and neonatal development of the diaphragm muscle (DIAm), the major inspiratory muscle in mammals, and partition between the thoracic and abdominal cavities. The DIAm appears rather late in evolution, being present only…
Acknowledgment This chapter was prepared through the financial support of grant HL 56470 (R.J. Martin and Y.S. Prakash), HL138402 (P.M. MacFarlane), and HL 133459 (T.M. Raffay) from the National Institutes of Health. Introduction Significant progress has been made in elucidating…
Introduction Although the conducting airways are formed well in advance of fetal viability, they undergo significant maturational changes in late gestation. Conducting airways are susceptible to damage until they acquire the characteristics of more mature airways. Controversy exists concerning the…
Acknowledgment The editors wish to thank David P. Carlton for his excellent work on this chapter in the fifth edition. It has been republished here essentially unchanged. Introduction Before birth, the lung is filled with liquid secreted by the epithelia…
The need to extract and utilize sufficient amounts of oxygen from the environment to sustain life has had an incredible impact on the evolution of the respiratory systems. In particular, breathing amphibians and mammals with their high metabolic rates have…
Introduction Growth and development of the lung occurs both before and after birth and is a major determinant of respiratory health throughout postnatal life. Adequate lung growth before birth is necessary for the successful transition from fetal to postnatal life.…
Introduction Lung development is a continuous process, starting very early in embryonic life with the differentiation of the tracheal bud from the ventral side of the primitive gut and ending in postnatal life with the multiplication of alveoli and the…
Acknowledgments The author thanks Dr. Susan E. Wert for her writing of this chapter for the fifth edition, which is the foundation for this updated chapter. The author would also like to thank Dr. Jamie Verheyden for assistance with this…
Physiologic Background A sufficient maternal blood supply to the placenta is of utmost importance to the fetus during pregnancy and labor. It has long been recognized that uterine contractions diminish uteroplacental blood flow. Contractions of myometrium compress the vessels traversing…
Introduction The fetoplacental circulation, also known as umbilical circuit, with its transport of nutrients, gases, and endocrine signaling, is critical for fetal development. A long tradition of animal experiments has given us indispensable insights into its physiology. However, the introduction…