FIGURE 3.

The healthy lung (left), and the acute phase of ARDS/ALI (right). In ARDS/ALI, injury is initiated by either direct or indirect insults to the delicate alveolar structure of the distal lung and associated micro-vasculature. In the acute phase of the injury, resident alveolar macrophages are activated, leading to the release of potent pro-inflammatory mediators and chemokines that promote the accumulation of neutrophils and monocytes. Reproduced with permission from Ware and Matthay (2000).