Fetal pulmonary maturity and antenatal diagnosis of respiratory distress syndrome.

The clinical entity of hyaline membrane disease affords one the opportunity to study a disease from the cellular, biochemical, anatomical, and clinical standpoint, and to be able to formulate a theory on its pathogenesis. Recent refinements in methodology give the clinician a valuable tool in diagnosing and hopefully preventing hyaline membrane disease. In the setting where early delivery is unavoidable, the potential for pharmacologic intervention exists, and hopefully, long-term studies will prove the benefit of steroid therapy.