Lume; VD: ventilation dead space; WWI: Globe War I. Authors’ contributions WL and JP designed and performed the experiments presented within the manuscript. JP ready and approved the manuscript for submission. All authors study and approved the final manuscript.Author facts 4th Division of Toxicology, Fourth Military Healthcare University, No. 169 Changle West Road, Xi’an 710032, Shaanxi Province, China. 2 Covestro Deutschland AG, Global Phosgene Steering Group, K9, 565, 51365 Leverkusen, Germany.Li and Pauluhn Clin Trans Med (2017) six:Page 18 ofAcknowledgements The authors thank Dr. Chen Wang, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, China, Ministry of Well being, Beijing, China, to help this research project by granting the Ph.D. students Fangfang Liu and Sa Luo from Beijing Institute of Respiratory Medicine, Division of Respiratory and Essential Care Medicine, Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital, Capital Healthcare University, Beijing, China, to execute their theses around the topic “Phosgene-induced Lung Injury” at the Division of Toxicology, Bayer Butachlor site Pharma AG, Wuppertal, Germany. The authors fortunately acknowledge their fantastic scientific contributions (for details see references). This investigation was financially supported by the Department of Pharmacology Vascular Ailments, Cardiology Hematology, Bayer Pharma AG, Wuppertal, Germany, and Covestro AG (formerly Bayer Material Science), a producer of phosgene. Competing interests The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Funding WL received a grant from Covestro for analysis on countermeasures of phosgene. JP (retired from Bayer Healthcare) received economic help from Covestro to prepare this overview for Open Access. There is no monetary interest or any involvement of Covestro that would have influenced the interpretations offered in this assessment.Publisher’s NoteSpringer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Received: 14 March 2017 Accepted: 15 MayReferences 1. United Ralfinamide medchemexpress states Army (2005) Potential military chemicalbiological agents and compounds, field manual 31.9. US Army Training and Doctrine Command, Fort Monroe, January 2005 two. United states Army (1990) Prospective military chemicalbiological agents and compounds, field manual 3. Headquarters, Department in the Army, Washington, DC, 12 December 1990. In: McKone TE, Huey BM, Downing E, Duffy LM (eds) Methods to defend the health of deployed US forces: detecting, characterizing, and documenting exposures. National Investigation Council, National Academy Press, Washington, 2000 three. Heller CE (1984). Chemical warfare in World War I: the American encounter, 1917918, Leavenworth p. ten. Combat Studies Institute, US Army Command and General Employees College, Fort Leavenworth, September 1984 four. Sidell FR, Takafuji ET and Franz DR (Eds) (1997) Medical aspects of chemical and biological warfare. Office of your Surgeon Common, Division of your Army, The Borden Institute, Walter Reed Army Healthcare Center, Washington, 1997 5. National Study Council (NRC) (2002). Phosgene: acute exposure guideline levels, Appendix 1 in Acute Exposure Guideline Levels for selected airborne chemicals, vol two. Committee on Acute Exposure Guideline Levels, Committee on Toxicology, National Research Council, National Academies Press, Washington, p. 150. ISBN: 0-309-56773-4 6. Gilchrist HL, Matz PB (1933) The residual effects of warfare gases: III phosgene and IV arsenical compounds. US War Depart.