We studied the effects of alterations in lung fluid volume on growth and maturation of the fetal lung. In a chronic fetal sheep preparation, right fetal lung volume was decreased by drainage of lung fluid while the volume of the left lung was expanded by mainstem bronchus ligation leading to lung fluid retention. After an experimental period of 25 d (from 105 to 129 d of gestation, term = 145 d), the right (deflated) lung was significantly hypoplastic and contained less DNA than the controls; 175.15 +/- 55.18 vs. 346.77 +/- 61.97 mg, respectively; P less than 0.001. In contrast, the left (expanded) lung was significantly hyperplastic and contained more DNA than the controls; 390.74 +/- 103.53 vs. 238.85 +/- 33.32 mg, respectively; P = 0.001. Biochemical indices of lung maturation, including total phospholipids, phosphatidylcholine, and disaturated phosphatidylcholine content expressed per unit of tissue DNA, were no different when comparing the hypoplastic, hyperplastic, and control lungs. These findings demonstrate that fetal lung cell multiplication is influenced by local distension with lung fluid, while the biochemical maturation of fetal lung surfactant is under systemic control.