Abstract
SPECULATION about alveolar size usually centres on the provision of a diffusing surface area adequate for metabolic needs. Tenney and Remmers1, from a survey of lungs in mammals of many different sizes from the bat upwards, concluded that 
where m = body mass. The resting metabolic rate is proportional to m0.74 when animals such as the dugong and manatee which have a sluggish metabolism are excluded2. We deduce that 
which indicates that variation of alveolar diameter with body mass for the appropriate animals is gradual. This is supported by data which were collected to determine directly the relationship between alveolar size and body mass.
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SPELLS, K. Some Physical Considerations relevant to the Dimensions of Lung Alveoli. Nature 219, 64–66 (1968). https://doi.org/10.1038/219064a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/219064a0
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