TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - The Pulmonary Circulation A1 - Naeije, Robert A2 - Grippi, Michael A. A2 - Antin-Ozerkis, Danielle E. A2 - Dela Cruz, Charles S. A2 - Kotloff, Robert M. A2 - Kotton, Camille Nelson A2 - Pack, Allan I. PY - 2023 T2 - Fishman’s Pulmonary Diseases and Disorders, 6e AB - The discovery of the pulmonary circulation was reported in the 13th century by Ibn al-Nafis (1213–1288) in the “Commentary on Anatomy in Avicenna’s Canon” and, probably independently, in the 16th century by Michael Servetus (1511–1553) in the “The Restoration of Christianity.”1 The pulmonary circulation as a separate high-flow low-pressure system is the end result of an evolutionary process aimed at the optimization of gas exchange of endothermic birds and mammals.2 Evolution from ancestors of fishes to amphibians, reptiles, and finally birds and mammals has led to progressively greater oxygen consumption requiring thinner pulmonary blood gas barrier. The alveolo-capillary membrane in mammals is a vulnerable structure only 0.3 µm thick. Preservation of the integrity of this barrier requires complete separation of the pulmonary circulation from the systemic circulatory systems, which is accompanied by a progressive unloading and reshaping of the right ventricle as a thin-walled flow generator. SN - PB - McGraw-Hill Education CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/04/17 UR - accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1194946308 ER -