Acute lung injury

Patent Pending Acute lung injury (ALI), also called non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema, is characterized by the abrupt onset of significant hypoxemia and diffuse pulmonary infiltrates in the absence of cardiac failure. The core pathology is disruption of the capillary-endothelial interface: this actually refers to two separate barriers – the endothelium and the basement membrane of the alveolus.