The post-natal development of the lung

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Statistically complete counts were done on the air passages across the middle part of the right middle lobe of the human lung of 147 stillborns and children and 18 adults. There was no evidence of an extension of cartilage after the age of 6 months. There was a great individual variation in the number of mucus acinal glands. There was apparent increased protrusion of glands until the age of 1 yr, but no increase in gland bearing air tubes after this age. There was an increase in the number of completely epithelialized non-cartilage bearing air tubes up to the age of 1 yr but from that age, there is a diminution in the number of such tubes. The number of incomplete tubes, however, did not diminish in older children and adults and the ratio of the complete and incomplete tubes suggests that the complete tubes are converted to incomplete tubes as the lung develops after birth. There is a progressive increase in the number of alveoli throughout the whole of childhood and probably up to the age of 20. In the immediate post natal period, the alveoli are at least as large as they are until the age of 10, i.e., during this time, they increase in number, not size. After this time, however, they appear to increase in size rather than number. Numerical data is presented against which it should be possible to assess abnormal lungs.

This publication has 1 reference indexed in Scilit: