Respiratory distress is a major problem in multisystem injured patients as well as other severely stress individuals. The relationship between fat emboli, increased serum fatty acid levels and pulmonary dysfunction has been poorly defined because of many limitatons. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of serum faty acids have been irreproducible from laboratory to laboratory limiting the ability to define the relationship of these serum substances with disease process. In addition, the actual pathophysiology of fatty acids on cellular and molecular dysfunction has never been investigated indepth. The short-term goals of this project during the first year were to: 1) develop a reproducible fatty acid analysis and 2) develop an animal trauma model leading to increased free fatty acid levels. Both these goals were achieved during the first year of this grant.