DEVELOPMENT OF PULMONARY FUNCTION IN LATE GESTATION: I. The Functional Residual Capacity of the Lung in Premature Children

Summary Functional residual capacity has been measured in premature and term infants soon after birth and repeatedly thereafter. Good correlation with body weight, length and gestational age have been found. However, the known relationships between the development of lung volume and attributes of body growth in older individuals are only partially valid during late gestation. Some peculiar growth patterns observed in this age could be explained by disproportionate variations in the rate of growth of body length and weight on the one hand and of lung volume on the other. By extrapolation over a very short range it was possible to verify the post mortem estimates of the gestational age at which alveolization occurs.