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SURFACTANT
Author(s) -
WOOLCOCK ANN J.
Publication year - 1973
Publication title -
medical journal of australia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1326-5377
pISSN - 0025-729X
DOI - 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1973.tb110777.x
Subject(s) - pulmonary surfactant , expiration , respiratory distress , surface tension , respiration , respiratory system , medicine , chemistry , materials science , anesthesia , anatomy , physics , biochemistry , quantum mechanics
Surfactant is a substance which forms a thin film over the surface of the air spaces of the lungs. It prevents the air spaces from collapsing because of its remarkable ability to lower their surface tension, especially on expiration. Loss of surfactant impairs normal respiration and leads to respiratory distress syndrome in infants and in adults.