This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

We told you last week about a study which found that more than ten percent of all babies worldwide are born too early. One common problem in preterm babies is respiratory disease. The lungs are the last organs to develop. But a medicine called surfactant can save babies struggling to breathe.

The story of this lifesaving medicine begins with a discovery in nineteen fifty-nine by a researcher named Mary Ellen Avery. She told this story in two thousand five to Children's News at Children's Hospital Boston, where she was the first woman to serve as physician-in-chief.

Dr. Mary Ellen Avery, center, working in 1977

She had been doing research at the Harvard School of Public Health. She was asked to find out more about the foam that forms in the lungs of people with a condition called pulmonary edema. At night she worked in a hospital delivery room. She saw many premature babies with hyaline membrane disease, now called respiratory distress syndrome.

She examined the lungs of babies who had died. She found there was no air in their lungs, and she discovered why. In her words, "The material that was important -- the foam -- was missing, and they were struggling to re-inflate their lungs. Nature put this foam, or surfactant, in the lung to lower surface tension. You cannot keep air spaces inflated without it."

Babies usually develop this coating while they are in the womb, but many premature babies do not.

Finally, in nineteen eighty, a Japanese pediatrician, Tetsuro Fujiwara, published a study about an artificial surfactant. It could be given to a baby and, within minutes, the baby could breathe.

The medical community had taken years to accept Dr. Avery's discovery. But she said in a Harvard Medical School interview in nineteen eighty-two that she never gave up.

MARY ELLEN AVERY: "Hanging in there is key, I think. Knowing what you want to do and not being easily discouraged is key, particularly in research. You know, you're always moving into the unknown. And you can spend months trying to prove something, only to find that you made some terrible mistakes and you have to be willing to say 'six months of my life and my hard work went down the drain,' and you have to start over -- that's terrible discouragement."

Dr. Anne Hansen in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Children's Hospital Boston remembers the first time she heard about Dr. Avery. It was in nineteen ninety, when the government was in the process of approving an early surfactant called Exosurf.

ANNE HANSEN: "And the attending [doctor] who I was on with said, 'When you're on call tonight, if there's a baby who's born who's premature, you should watch very closely the natural history of that disease, because this is the last night before we're going to start giving Exosurf to all our preterm babies, so this will be your last chance ever in your life to see what a preterm baby does when they don't receive Exosurf.' And then he told me the whole story of Dr. Avery and her discoveries."

Mary Ellen Avery was eighty-four years old when she died last December fourth.

And that's the VOA Special English Health Report. I'm Jim Tedder.

This is the VOA Special English Health Report.

这里是美国之音慢速英语健康报道。

We told you last week about a study which found that more than ten percent of all babies worldwide are born too early. One common problem in preterm babies is respiratory disease. The lungs are the last organs to develop. But a medicine called surfactant can save babies struggling to breathe.

上周我们谈到了一项研究，世界各地10%以上的婴儿早产。早产儿常见问题之一是呼吸系统疾病。肺是最后发育的器官。但一种被称为表面活性物质 (surfactant) 的药物可以挽救呼吸困难的婴儿。

The story of this lifesaving medicine begins with a discovery in nineteen fifty-nine by a researcher named Mary Ellen Avery. She told this story in two thousand five to Children's News at Children's Hospital Boston, where she was the first woman to serve as physician-in-chief.

这种救命药的故事始于1959年一位名为玛丽·埃伦·埃弗里(Mary Ellen Avery)的研究员的发现。2005年她向波士顿儿童医院的《儿童新闻》讲述了这一故事，她也是该医院担任主任医师的第一位女性。

She had been doing research at the Harvard School of Public Health. She was asked to find out more about the foam that forms in the lungs of people with a condition called pulmonary edema. At night she worked in a hospital delivery room. She saw many premature babies with hyaline membrane disease, now called respiratory distress syndrome.

她曾在哈佛大学公共卫生学院从事研究工作。她被要求找出更多有关肺水肿患者肺部形成的粘液的信息。晚上她在一家医院的产房工作，看到了许多患有肺透明膜病，现在被称为呼吸窘迫综合征的早产儿。

51VOA注：从上下文来看，这种粘液(foam)是指肺表面活性物质。

She examined the lungs of babies who had died. She found there was no air in their lungs, and she discovered why. In her words, "The material that was important -- the foam -- was missing, and they were struggling to re-inflate their lungs. Nature put this foam, or surfactant, in the lung to lower surface tension. You cannot keep air spaces inflated without it."

她检查了死亡婴儿的肺，发现肺里没有空气，并找出了原因。用她的话来说，“这种非常重要的粘液物质消失了，而它们在竭力重新扩张肺部。造物主向肺部注入这种活性物质来降低肺泡表面压力。如果没有没有它，就没法保证肺泡空隙膨胀。”

Babies usually develop this coating while they are in the womb, but many premature babies do not.

婴儿通常会在子宫孕育期间生成这种表面活性物质，但许多早产儿未能生成这种物质。

Finally, in nineteen eighty, a Japanese pediatrician, Tetsuro Fujiwara, published a study about an artificial surfactant. It could be given to a baby and, within minutes, the baby could breathe.

最后在1980年，日本儿科医生藤原哲郎(Tetsuro Fujiwara)发表了一篇有关人工表面活性物质的研究。它可以提供给婴儿，几分钟之内婴儿就能呼吸。

The medical community had taken years to accept Dr. Avery's discovery. But she said in a Harvard Medical School interview in nineteen eighty-two that she never gave up.

医学界花了很多年才接受埃弗里的发现。但她1982年在哈佛医学院的面试中表示，她从未放弃。

MARY ELLEN AVERY: "Hanging in there is key, I think. Knowing what you want to do and not being easily discouraged is key, particularly in research. You know, you're always moving into the unknown. And you can spend months trying to prove something, only to find that you made some terrible mistakes and you have to be willing to say 'six months of my life and my hard work went down the drain,' and you have to start over -- that's terrible discouragement."

埃弗里：“坚持是关键，我认为。知道自己想做什么同时不要轻易气馁是关键，特别是在研究中。你知道，你不断地会进入未知领域。你花几个月时间试图证明一些东西，结果却发现自己犯了一些严重错误同时不得不说，‘我这六个月的辛勤工作全白搭了。’而你必须从头再来，这非常气馁。”

Dr. Anne Hansen in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Children's Hospital Boston remembers the first time she heard about Dr. Avery. It was in nineteen ninety, when the government was in the process of approving an early surfactant called Exosurf.

波士顿儿童医院新生儿重症监护室的安妮·汉森医生还记得自己第一次听到埃弗里医生。那是在1990年，当时政府正在审批一种名为Exosurf的早期表面活性物质。

ANNE HANSEN: "And the attending [doctor] who I was on with said, 'When you're on call tonight, if there's a baby who's born who's premature, you should watch very closely the natural history of that disease, because this is the last night before we're going to start giving Exosurf to all our preterm babies, so this will be your last chance ever in your life to see what a preterm baby does when they don't receive Exosurf.' And then he told me the whole story of Dr. Avery and her discoveries."

汉森：“当时和我一起工作的主治医生说，'当你晚上值班时，如果有早产儿，你应该密切观察这种疾病的自然历程，因为这是我们将开始对早产儿使用Exosurf前的最后一个夜晚，因此这将是你生命中看到未使用Exosurf的早产儿的最后一次机会。'

Mary Ellen Avery was eighty-four years old when she died last December fourth.

埃弗里去年12月4日去世，享年84岁。