Introduction.

摘要

This month's issue of Seminars in Perinatology reviews recent developments into understanding genetic mechanisms of lung disease in newborn infants, with a particular focus on inborn errors of surfactant metabolism. The genetic diseases reviewed in this issue are rare, and many neonatol-ogists or obstetricians may never have the experience of caring for an infant affected with one of these disorders or caring for a mother who has lost a child to one of these illnesses. However there are important reasons why clinicians should be aware of these disorders.