A Surface Phase Model of the Alveolar Lining: Ultrastructural Analysis and in vivo Applications
In this thesis the relation between lung surfactant structure and functional properties have been studied. Experimental results show that the alveolar surface is formed by a coherent surface phase with a structure equal to tubular myelin. The properties of this phase may explain certain unresolved issues in lung physiology, e.g., mechanical stability of surfactant during the breathing cycle, the