ISSN:
1432-136X
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Biology
,
Medicine
Notes:
Summary 1. Washings from frog lungs have been analysed chemically with especial reference to the lipids and their phosphorus-containing components. Comparisons are made with similar analyses of whole lung extracts and with comparable results for washings and extracts of the mammalian lung. It has been found that phospholipids comprise a large proportion (50%) of the lipids extracted from the frog lung by three successive washings, and this phospholipid is about 1/15th of the total phospholipid of the fresh lungs. The nature of some components of these phospholipids, e.g. phosphatidyl choline and phosphatidyl glycerol suggest the presence of a surfactant at the air-tissue interface which is similar to that found in mammals. 2. In spite of differences in the morphological nature of the gas exchange regions of frog and mammals, it seems possible that such a layer may perform similar functions. It is suggested that in both mammalian and frug lung there is a surfactant layer which may serve several functions whose relative importance may vary in different groups of vertebrates.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00691025
Permalink
