Lung Alveoli
Lung Alveoli - Related Videos
01:26
Alveoli and Alveolar Ducts
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2024
The respiratory zone of the human body, which stands in contrast to the conducting zone, comprises the structures that actively participate in the exchange of gases. The initiation of this zone is marked by the terminal bronchioles converging into respiratory bronchioles, the tiniest bronchiole classification. The respiratory bronchioles give way to the alveolar ducts that opens into a congregation of alveoli. Actively involved in gas exchange, alveoli resemble tiny sacs similar to clusters of...
03:06
Preparation of a Murine Oropharyngeal Aspiration Model to Establish Bacterial Lung Infections
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2026
Source: Nielsen, T. B., et al., Murine Oropharyngeal Aspiration Model of Ventilator-associated and Hospital-acquired Bacterial Pneumonia. J. Vis. Exp. (2018)This video demonstrates the procedure of delivering bacteria through the oropharynx into the lungs of an anesthetized mouse to induce lung infection and trigger an immune response.
07:06
A Simple Method of Mouse Lung Intubation
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Cited by 50 •
2013
This paper describes a striaghforward and efficient method of intubating mice for pulmonary function measurements or pulmonary instillation, that allows the mice to recover and be studied at later times. The procedure involves an inexpensive fiberoptic light source that directly illuminates the trachea.
03:03
Pig Bronchiolar Tissue Extraction: A Procedure to Dissect Bronchiolar Tissue Sections From Porcine Lungs
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2025
In this video, we describe a surgical procedure to extract bronchiolar tissues from harvested pig lung. The ex vivo bronchiolar tissue could be used to develop infection models for studying chronic lung infections.
01:47
Lung Capacity
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2019
The air in the lungs is measured in volumes and capacities. Lung volume measures reflect the amount of air taken in, released, or left over after a lung function, like a single inhalation. Lung capacity measures are sums of two or more lung volume measures. There are four defined lung volume measures: tidal volume, inspiratory reserve volume, expiratory reserve volume, and residual volume. Tidal volume is the amount of air inhaled and exhaled in a normal breath. Inspiratory...
FAQs
Surfactant released by type II alveolar cells lowers surface tension along the air-sac lining. This reduction helps keep the alveoli from collapsing, preserving the air-filled spaces needed for oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange. When surfactant support is effective, the alveolar surface remains available for close interaction with pulmonary capillaries and continued gas transfer.
Gas exchange is efficient because inhaled air and blood are separated by a short diffusion path at the alveolar-capillary interface. The extensive alveolar surface area provides many sites for this transfer, allowing oxygen to move toward the bloodstream and carbon dioxide to move toward the air space. Damage or inflammation at this interface can reduce that efficiency.
Alveolar macrophages provide local immune surveillance within the air spaces. They recognize inhaled particles and microorganisms and help remove them before these threats can persist in the lung. This activity connects the respiratory exchange surface with innate immune defense, making the alveoli relevant not only to gas transfer but also to early responses against inhaled infectious material.
Inflammation or infection can disrupt the alveolar-capillary barrier, the interface that normally supports exchange between air and blood. Once this barrier is affected, movement of oxygen and carbon dioxide can become impaired. The resulting loss of exchange function explains why injury at the alveolar level is an important consequence of pulmonary infection and inflammatory disease.
Pneumonia is relevant to alveolar biology because infection can involve the air spaces and disturb the barrier required for gas exchange. Examining alveolar immune surveillance, barrier integrity, and exchange impairment helps connect microbial exposure with functional consequences in the lung. This framework also highlights why local inflammation can affect oxygen and carbon dioxide movement.
In acute respiratory distress, disruption of the alveolar-capillary barrier is a central concern because it can impair gas exchange. The alveoli therefore provide a useful site for linking tissue injury, inflammation, and respiratory dysfunction. Studying these changes helps researchers interpret how damage to the exchange interface can produce serious consequences beyond the initial infectious or inflammatory trigger.