Dataset: Morphometric analysis of lung development in the gray short-tailed opossum (Monodelphis domestica) - Data

The postnatal lung development of the gray short-tailed opossum (Monodelphis domestica) was investigated to assess the morphofunctional status in this immature born marsupial. Lung volume, surface densities and surface areas, parenchymal (air spaces and septa) and non-parenchymal (airways, blood vessels, connective tissue) volume proportions were determined in Micro-CT images using morphometry. The lung of the newborn Monodelphis domestica is structurally and quantitatively sufficiently developed to meet the respiratory requirements of the small neonate, however, supported by cutaneous respiration during the first postnatal days. The lung has to mature rapidly in the postnatal period to support the increasing metabolic requirements of the developing young. This data set includes the morphometric data for all animals investigated in this study.