ABSTRACT
Department of Medical Biotechnology, Central Research Institute of Roentgenology and Radiology, Ministry of Health, St. Petersburg, Russia
INTRODUCTION
Lung surfactant is a lipoprotein complex covering the alveolar epithelial surface of the lungs (1). It was discovered about 50 years ago when the pathogenesis of respiratory failure, which some premature newborns suffered from immediately after birth, was being investigated. In 1959, Avery and Mead (2) first found out that bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid of newborns with the disease of hyaline membrane, which is now known as respiratory distress syndrome in infants (IRDS), lowered surface tension less than BAL of healthy newborns.
