Introduction to the Pathology 

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is an illness that affects the lungs of newborns. The disease has higher prevalence rates in premature newborns. BPD affects how the breathing of newborns, making them require oxygen therapy. The oxygen is given through a breathing tube, a mask, and nasal prongs (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, n.d.). Proper gas exchange occurs when there is an increased lung surface area with an expanded number of blood vessels, an increased number of alveoli, and a thin alveolar-capillary barrier. The surface area of the lung increases at the later stages of lung development. These are the saccular and alveolar stages. This stage of lung development is interrupted in patients with BPD. This then leads to an ineffective respiratory system that cannot achieve gas exchange. Respiratory support is therefore needed to enable gas exchange. Advances in neonatal and perinatal care of preterm infants have changed the pathology of BPD. Treatments such as gentle ventilation, postnatal surfactant, and antenatal steroids have changed how BPD affects infants. The classic pathology of BPD was characterized by hypertensive remodeling of the pulmonary arteries, extensive alveolar septal fibrosis marked airway smooth muscle hyperplasia, and squamous metaplasia. The new pathology is characterized by mild airway smooth muscle thickening, reduced dysmorphic vascular bed with rare epithelial lesions, and a simplified alveolar structure (Thekkeveedu, Guaman & Shivanna, 2017). 

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