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(Orgeig and Daniels) This surfactant symposium reflects the integrative and multidisciplinary aims of the 1st ICRB, by encompassing in vitro and in vivo research, studies of vertebrates and invertebrates, and research across multiple disciplines. We explore the physical and structural challenges that face gas exchange surfaces in vertebrates and insects, by focusing on the role of the surfactant system. Pulmonary surfactant is a complex mixture of lipids and proteins that lines the air–liquid interface of the lungs of all air-breathing vertebrates, where it functions to vary surface tension with changing lung volume. We begin with a discussion of the extraordinary conservation of the blood–gas barrier among vertebrate respiratory organs, which has evolved to be extremely thin, thereby maximizing gas exchange, but simultaneously strong enough to withstand significant distension forces. The principal components of …