Building a good lung, capable of efficient gas exchange between air and blood, poses a
number of conflicting problems for physiology and cell biology. One of these is the complex …

In an age in which no research grant can be obtained if it does not address the cell and
molecular aspects of lung disease, it sounds heretical to claim that “it takes more than cells …

The luminal surface of the conducting airways is lined by a layer of epithelial cells (1, 2). In
the proximal airways, these cells are arranged in a pseudo-stratified columnar arrangement …

In the last 10 years, since the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) convened a
workshop focused on mechanisms of alveolar microvascular injury (1), there has been an …

The lung interfaces with the environment across a continuous epithelium composed of
various cell types along the proximal and distal airways. At the alveolar structure level, the …

One of the more remarkable features of the lungs is the way in which alveolar ventilation is
automatically adjusted to pulmonary-capillary blood flow as body position changes. Through …

Alveoli represent the major sites of gas exchange. Their presence increases the surface
area of the lung to maximize gas exchange, much like villi and microvilli increase the …

In the lung, the alveolar–capillary barrier is responsible for controlling the volume and solute
content of the thin layer of fluid that lines the alveolar space (epithelial lining fluid)[1–3]. This …

Our current alveolar paradigm includes three highly specialized cell populations. Alveolar
type I cells are flat, elongated cells that presumably enable gas exchange. Alveolar type II …

The discovery, in the 1960s, of the important physiologic role of lung surfactant led the way
to the recognition of the lung as an active metabolic organ. Since that time, and particularly …