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. 2021 Oct 29;37:30. doi: 10.1186/s42826-021-00108-x

Fig. 1.

Fig. 1

Ventilator-induced lung injury. A Mechanical ventilation with insufficient PEEP can lead to collapse of the alveoli, leading to atelectrauma. Inspiration and expiration from the mechanical ventilator will lead to the alveoli being repeatedly opened and collapsed, which will lead to shear stress and injury. B Inappropriately high pressure/tidal volume settings from the mechanical ventilator can lead to overdistension of the distal bronchi and alveoli, leading to volu/barotrauma injury and barrier disruption. C The damage caused by atelectrauma and volu/barotrauma cumulatively can lead to activation of immune and epithelial cells, causing an excessive inflammatory response which can lead to an influx of inflammatory mediators (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-8), resulting in what is called biotrauma. Figure created with BioRender.com