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,
Ultimopharyngeal body during development. Failure of development of ultimobranchial body is seen in DiGeorge syndrome. Ultimopharyngeal body The ultimopharyngeal body or ultimobranchial body or ultimobranchial gland is a small organ found in the neck region of many animals. In humans, the ultimobranchial body is an embryological structure that gives rise to the calcitonin-producing cells—also called parafollicular cells or C cells—of the thyroid gland. In humans, this body is a derivative of the ventral recess of the fourth pharyngeal pouch (technically fifth, but that one is rudimentary and merges with the fourth). The cells that give rise to the parafollicular cells are actually