Functions of Pulmonary Surfactant

There are three main functions of alveolar surface surfactant: • increasing the lung compliance • preventing fluid accumulation • stabilizing the size of alveoli This comprehensive video discusses each one of them separately and discusses how surfactant prevents the collapse of smaller alveoli into a larger one. Timeline: 00:00 introduction 00:21 increasing the lung compliance 01:19 preventing fluid accumulation 01:49 stabilizing the size of alveoli 02:05 why small alveoli collapse into large alveoli? 04:57 why this should not happen? 05:26 how surfactant prevents the collapse of smaller alveoli into a larger one?