الفهرس 
Anatomy of the LungsOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) is defined as respiratory failure that occurs after birth due to absence of lung surfactant, a substance that is required to prevent alveolar collapse and for inflation of the lungs. This condition is a leading cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality. (1). Risk of neonatal RDS decreases as gestational age increases, because the lungs are the final fetal organs to functionally mature. Therefore, neonatal RDS is often considered to be a disease of premature newborns, although it does not exclusively occur after preterm deliveries (1). Biochemical tests have been developed to determine the risk of neonatal RDS and help obstetricians to decide when to deliver a neonate. The chemical, biological, and physical properties of amniotic fluid represent the gold-standard measures of fetal lung maturity (LM). Nevertheless, amniotic fluid can be obtained only by performing amniocentesis, an invasive procedure that poses potential risks to the pregnancy, such as premature rupture of membranes, preterm labor, placental abruption, fetomaternal hemorrhage, fetal injury, and even fetal or maternal death (2).