an air-filled "bubble" lined with thin lung cells (epithelial cells) that is the smallest unit of lung tissue. Our lungs are composed of millions of such alveoli.

a type of diaphragmatic hernia named after Vincent Alexander Bochdalek, the Czech anatomist (1801-1883) who first described the condition. It is the most common type of diaphragmatic hernia, whereby the hole in the diaphragm is in the back. It is more common on the left than on the right.

carbon dioxide is a gas that is made as a byproduct of breathing (when oxygen is used by the body). Just as oxygen is breathed into the lungs, carbon dioxide is breathed out. One of the main functions of blood is to transport oxygen from the lungs (or the placenta, in the fetus) to the tissues in the body, and to transport carbon dioxide from the t [..]

a disease or condition is called chromosomal when it is known to occur because of the presence of an abnormal chromosome. Normally, there are 26 pairs of chromosomes in each human cell. If there is one copy of a chromosome too many, the condition is called trisomy. The most common trisomies are Trisomy 13, Trisomy 18 and Trisomy 21 (Down syndrome). [..]

a condition that is present at or before birth. For example, a congenital diaphragmatic hernia is a hole in the diaphragm that is present in the fetus.

a hole in the diaphragm found in the fetus, which causes the intestines and other abdominal organs to move into the chest and compress the lungs, and often causes severe breathing problems at birth.

the thin muscle layer that separates the chest from the abdominal cavity.

the technique of operating on a fetus or the placenta through tiny telescopes and surgical instruments, without having to open the uterus.

the food-pipe. In the embryo, the trachea (wind-pipe) and bronchi (the smaller airways) form from an outpouching of the upper portion of the esophagus.

an artificial lung system that allows the baby's lungs to rest, while blood is directed through a circuit with a "membrane oxygenator" that acts like a lung. Often used for newborns with pulmonary hypoplasia or other temporary lung problems, such as meconium aspiration syndrome.