Pulmonary surfactant

Alveoli are the spherical outcroppings of the respiratory bronchioles.

Pulmonary surfactant is a surface-active complex of phospholipids and proteins formed by type II alveolar cells.[1] The proteins and lipids that make up the surfactant have both hydrophilic and hydrophobic regions. By adsorbing to the air-water interface of alveoli, with hydrophilic head groups in the water and the hydrophobic tails facing towards the air, the main lipid component of surfactant, dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC), reduces surface tension.

As a medication, pulmonary surfactant is on the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines, the most important medications needed in a basic health system.[2]

  1. ^ Bernhard W (November 2016). "Lung surfactant: Function and composition in the context of development and respiratory physiology". Annals of Anatomy. 208: 146–150. doi:10.1016/j.aanat.2016.08.003. PMID 27693601.
  2. ^ "19th WHO Model List of Essential Medicines (April 2015)" (PDF). WHO. April 2015. Retrieved May 10, 2015.