Fetal Lung Development: Current Concepts

Abstract

Determination of the lecithin/sphingomyelin ratio in amniotic fluid and the newborn infant’s own tracheal fluid has proved of significant value in identifying the premature infant whose lungs have not yet matured to the point at which surface-active pulmonary lecithin will be synthesized rapidly enough after birth, and who are thus at risk for respiratory distress, with its high mortality and high percentage of associated neurologic and intellectual deficits.