Abstract
Liggins and Howie1 have demonstrated the effect of antepartum dexamethasone in the prevention of the respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). Contrary to the current concept2 that this prevention results from maturation of the lung, though this may be an added benefit, the writer proposes that the adrenal is the primary target organ. In a previous letter3 regarding the role of catecholamines in the etiology of RDS he advised that whereas the lung of the mature infant is perfused by the pulmonary arteries (inducing alveolar expansion),4 the lung of the infant in utero is perfused by the bronchial arteries (inducing atelectasis).4
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