Pulmonary alveolus thin fluid coating within all alveoli. The fluid coating is produced by the body in order to facilitate the transfer of gases between blood and alveolar air. The surfactant is produced by the type II cells which are the most numerous cells in the alveoli, yet do not cover as much surface area as the squamous alveolar cells (a squamous epithelium). Type II cells also repair the endothelium of the alveolus when it becomes damaged. Insufficient surfactant in the alveoli can contribute to atelectasis (collapse of part or all of the lung). Without pulmonary surfactant, atelectasis is a certainty; however,
Composition of the human body not in an essential biological role. The average adult human body contains approximately atoms and contains at least detectable traces of 60 chemical elements. About 29 of these elements are thought to play an active positive role in life and health in humans. The relative amounts of each element vary by individual, mainly due to differences in the proportion of fat, muscle and bone in their body. Persons with more fat will have a higher proportion of carbon and a lower proportion of most other elements (the proportion of hydrogen will be about the same). The numbers in the table