The presence of water on the respiratory surfaces of the lung

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Abstract
Interest in the possibility of a fluid medium for the transport of oxygen in the respiration of terrestrial vertebrates was aroused by the author's discovery of a watery fluid in the bronchioles of human cadavers and of domestic animals. In the literature of respiration the tolerance of water injected into the lungs of living animals had been demonstrated by Claude Bernard in 1869. Water as the vehicle for oxygen in the respiration of terrestrial invertebrates has been recorded many times. The life of fishes and of invertebrates inhabiting the waters of the world is dependent upon oxygen dissolved in this medium. The present paper records: (a) The author's experience in seeking and recording evidence of the presence of a watery medium in the respiratory organs of a series of vertebrates, and (b) presents evidence in explanation of the method of oxygen transport from the termination of the bronchial system into the capillary blood‐stream of the lung. The investigation called for special techniques, apparatus and instruments; these are described. The period of investigation extended, with many interruptions, from '10 to '60; during which period reports of progress have been published.

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