NURS 203 Lecture Notes - Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia, Gestational Diabetes, Alveolar Cells
Document Summary
No surfactant (aka lecithin/phosphotidyl choline/phosphotidyl glycerol they are all surfactant). Collapsing pressure in the airways = surface tension/radius of airway. So, on expiration, normally the airway will be smaller b/c there is a pos intrathoracic pressure. If you decrease the radius, you will increase the collapsing pressure in the airways. Therefore, on expiration (in all of us), we have to decrease surface tension (which is what surfactant does) by doing this, it keeps the airways open on expiration, preventing atelectasis. Three causes of rds: prematurity: surfactant begins syn early, but it peaks at 32-35 week, so if you are born prematurely, you will not have enough surfactant, and baby will develop increased risk of developing rds. Sometimes mother has no choice and must deliver baby, or else it will die, and there is something you can do to the mom so the baby has more surfactant: give mother glucocorticoids b/c they stimulate surfactant synthesis.
