Which of the following is FALSE about surfactant & alveolar surface tension? Which of the following is FALSE about surfactant & alveolar surface tension? Surfactant is often given to premature infants. Surfactant increases alveolar surface tension. Surfactant is produced by alveolar cells. Surfactant makes it easier to breath in.
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Adi S.
true or false 1. The surface tension exerted by alveolar fluid is increased by the presence of surfactant.
The lungs are lined by a thin film of water. This water has a high surface tension that creates a collapsing force within the lung. The collapsing force inside the alveoli is important for the elastic recoil of the lung during exhalation. However, too much collapse would mean that the lungs cannot expand during inhalation. 1) What would happen if the attractive forces between the water molecules were disrupted to some degree? 2) If the collapsing forces were increased above normal within the lung, what would the intrapleural pressure need to be to prevent too much lung collapse? 3) The smaller the alveoli, the more likely the alveoli will collapse due to surface tension. What do you think happens to the elastic recoil of the lung when the walls between adjacent alveoli breakdown and adjacent alveoli become combined into one big alveolus? 4) Surfactant is produced by the lung cells to disrupt the alveolar surface tension. However, surfactant is not produced until the last 10 weeks of gestation, and premature babies sometimes suffer from the lack of surfactant production. What effects do you think you would observe in these premature infants?
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