[akrnfl]

what are the surfactants in human metabolism? (I know only pulmonary surfactants, what about others?)

[akrnfl]

 

[akrnfl]

 

[Arkcon]

In what instances would one be necessicary?  You already have the obvious one, well hardly obvious, just the one I'd heard of -- lungs produce surfactant.  But, why do they?  What for?  What happens if they don't?  Hint -- humans produce lung surfactant late in development, premature infants don't, what happens to them?  And how do we address the issue -- a squirt of dish washing liquid down the infant windpipe is not the therapy, I'm assuming (hey, I could be wrong.)

There's another property of surfactants, lets call them detergents for variety (another hint) that living things might need, can you figure out what it is, and where?

That's the way this forum works.  We give hints, to try and tease an answer from you, so you learn more.  You're better off, in the end that way.  And it's less like cheating.  Sometimes this forum seems like a magical place where answers just appear, but most things here are hard won, not just given away.