Year: 1997
Type: book-chapter
Abstract: In 1806 Laplace described the mathematical expression of surface tension. He described it as the attraction between molecules at a surface that contracts the area of an air-liquid interface so that the net force exerted by the surface tension is determined by the curvature. Over a century later von Neergaard [1] applied Laplace’s law to the lung. In his classic experiment, Neergaard filled lungs with a liquid so that the lung retractile forces were a function of tissue elasticity (because the alveolar air-liquid interface would have been removed). From this experiment he concluded that 75% of the retractile force of the air-filled lung was the result of surface tension. In 1933 it was discovered that the initial force required for air expansion of the newborn’s lung was considerably greater than for the subsequent breaths [2]. In 1947 it was found that this force could be reduced by one-half with the addition of amyl acetate vapor. This reduction in force correlated with amyl acetate’s surface tension-lowering ability [3].
Source: Birkhäuser Basel eBooks
Authors: Daniel A. Evans, Jeffrey A. Whitsett
Institution: Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
Language: English
Subfield: Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W46660394