1 American University Hospital, Beirut, Lebanon
Because of recent interest in the geographical incidence of hyaline membrane formation in the lungs of infants dying in the newborn period, the following observations are reported.
Between July 1, 1948, and June 30, 1958, there were 7,131 live births at the American University Hospital in Beirut, Lebanon. There were 117 known deaths during the first month of life. Autopsies were performed on 91 infants (78%). With use of the criteria of Potter,1 sections of the lungs of the 63 infants who died during the first 3 days of life were reviewed.