Neonatal transition
At birth, the newborn transitions from placental gas exchange to pulmonary ventilation; lung expansion and circulation changes establish neonatal cardiorespiratory physiology.
Open interactive lesson & self-check ↗Alveolar gas exchange
Original conceptual SVG · scalablePartial-pressure gradients move O₂ into pulmonary capillary blood and CO₂ toward alveolar gas; schematic, not to scale.
First breaths
Lung aeration reduces pulmonary vascular resistance and increases pulmonary blood flow, enabling efficient pulmonary gas exchange.
Circulatory adaptation
Changes in pressure and flow promote functional closure of fetal shunts. Anatomical closure occurs on differing timelines.
Thermoregulation
Newborns have a large surface-area-to-mass ratio and require attention to thermal balance during the transition.
Reference and next reading
Explore the original curriculum and publisher-hosted resources for full-depth reading; this note is an original schematic introduction, not an exhaustive chapter.