CARACTERÍSTICAS ANÁTOMO-FUNCIONAL DEL APARATO RESPIRATORIO DURANTE LA INFANCIA

The respiratory system presents significant differences between the infant and the adult, mainly because of the lack of anatomical and physiological maturity. This gives the infant respiratory system a functional weakness, and its difference is wider the less age the child has. As a compensatory reaction because of the immaturity, it presents a higher level of intensity in their symptoms in respiratory failure that makes their symptoms don't go unnoticed and deserve special early treatment. However the newborn are the exception. The presence of apnea and bradycardia with hypoxemia, is unusual in older children, and shows this feature is not permanent, making this unique condition not consistent with the physiology of the adult organism. The knowledge of the anatomic and physiological characteristics of the extra and inner thoracic airway, will allow us to predict early pathophysiological features that can make us suspect the disease in all pediatric patients.