The respiratory system develops through a simple but powerful idea: branching in response to space and need. This episode traces the journey from a small lung bud to a complex gas-exchanging organ capable of sustaining life at birth.

Langman’s explanations of signalling and branching morphogenesis are woven together with IB Singh’s clear staging of lung development and Moore’s clinically focused discussion of lung maturation, surfactant production, and neonatal respiratory distress. The tracheo-oesophageal septum becomes a key narrative moment rather than a fact to memorise.

This episode highlights how timing — not just structure — determines survival, especially at the margins of viability.

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