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Chapter 7 - Lung Structure at Preterm and Term Birth

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 April 2016

By
Jason C. Woods  and
Johannes C. Schittny
Edited by
Alan H. Jobe ,
Jeffrey A. Whitsett  and
Steven H. Abman
Alan H. Jobe
Affiliation:
University of Cincinnati
Jeffrey A. Whitsett
Affiliation:
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital
Steven H. Abman
Affiliation:
University of Colorado School of Medicine
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Summary

Abstract

When lung development is not interrupted by premature birth and unaffected by genetic or environmental disturbances, all components develop with complex control to form a functional organ with a predictable timeline during fetal development. In this chapter we describe the relationship between morphological development and function in both physiological and pathological conditions in human lung development. Tree-like growth of the lung begins during the first few weeks postconception, with the embryonic stage characterized by branching morphogenesis in both the airways and blood vessels, separately in the left and right lung buds, which appear near day 26 postcoitus (p.c.). Branching continues through the embryonic stage, with proliferation of mesenchymal and epithelial cells and apoptosis near branch points and in the areas of new formation. The pseudoglandular stage (weeks 5–17 p.c.) is characterized by accelerated cellular proliferation and airway and vascular branching, with epithelial differentiation in proximal and distal airways. Further epithelial differentiation, angiogenesis of the parenchymal capillary network, and the first formation of the air–blood barrier characterize the canalicular stage (16–26 weeks p.c.), just before the completion of branching morphogenesis (saccular stage, weeks 24–38 p.c.) and the start of alveolarization (week 36 through adolescence).

Type
Chapter
Information
Fetal and Neonatal Lung Development
Clinical Correlates and Technologies for the Future
 , pp. 126 - 140
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2016

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