[Ultrastructural changes on the alveolar surface in experimental respiratory distress syndrome with emphasis on the...

The lung lesions induced by herbicide paraquat lead to certain structural changes which have some features in common with those known in the idiopathic respiratory distress syndrome. It has been therefore suggested and proved that "paraquat lung" might serve as a convenient model of this disease in infants. In both the lesions lack of surfactant was supposed and revealed mostly by physical and biochemical methods. The study concerns the morphological demonstration of alveolar lining layer by various methods (the Callas' agar fixation technique, the Shea's alcian blue method, the Dermer's tricomplex fixation) in the rat lung in normal and experimental conditions and demonstrates its deficiency in the latter.