The Formation of Pulmonary Hyaline Membranes in the Newborn Baby

Although many attempts have been made to explain the formation of the pulmonary hyaline membranes found in newborn babies, their exact pathogenesis remains unknown. A number of theories of origin by aspiration stemmed from the description of membranous structures in the lungs of babies who had also aspirated vernix caseosa (Hochheim, 1903); however, most workers have abandoned these in favour of origin within the lung itself, either from the lining epithelium, or from material, particularly protein, lost through the pulmonary capillaries, and this last view seems most likely to be correct. Unfortunately, it was for long impossible to show the presence of fibrin, and the origin of the membranes from serum protein