الفهرس 
THE STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF THE ALVEOLAR INTERSTITIUM AND ITS REACTION TO INJURYOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Diffuse interstitial pulmonary fibrosis is defined as a condition of
unknown and possibly multiple causation characterized pathologically by a
diffuse in:flanunatory process in the lung beyond the terminal bronchioles
having its essential features:
1- Cellular thickening of the alveolar wall with a tendency to fibrosis.
2- The presence oflarge mononuclear cells within the alveolar spaces (1 ).
In the early stages of diffuse interstitial pulmonary fibrosis Pa 02 may
be normal at rest but falls on exercise when the alveolar-arterial oxygen
tension gradient is increased. With progression of disease, resting
hypoxaemia develops (2).
Owing to their active and complex metabolism, liver cells are readily
injured by hypoxia (3).
The serum levels of glutamic transaminases, lactic dehydrogenase and
alkaline phosphatase are raised in patients with COPD (4). Needle liver
biopsy performed in patients with COPD and resting hypoxaemia showed
focal necrosis and round cell infiltration of the portal tracts (5).