Fight for Life The final programme focused on how our bodies react to injury and disease in old age. The series ended on Monday 13 August 2007.

In this article

The making of Fight for Life 13 August: The final years 6 August: The middle years

30 July: Prime of life 23 July: Teenagers

16 July: Childhood 9 July: Birth

Fight for Life, a six-part series, uses computer-generated imagery (CGI) and specially shot material to reveal the fight for survival from inside the human body.

Each episode focuses on a different life stage showing the dramatic story of how the human body changes from birth, through to adulthood and old age, and the way in which it reacts when its defences are threatened.

Watch the making of Fight for Life, which highlights some of the CGI used in the programme.

Fight for Life shows how the body, alongside modern medicine, can fight against injury and illness despite its slowed responses.

Vera has been rushed to A&E after a fall at home. She has black circles around each eye, a typical sign of head injury, and seems confused. The programme follows her as she's rushed to x-ray to assess the damage.

Len arrives at Birmingham Heartland Hospital A&E with severe stomach pains. Tests reveal a necrotic bowel - the blood supply has been cut off and is killing tissue. He needs urgent surgery. His body is already coping with epilepsy, arthritis, a slow heartbeat and vascular disease. Will his body pull through, or will he lose his fight for life?

Geoffrey is rushed to A&E with intense heart pain. The cause is a tiny clot, not much bigger than a grain of rice, in one of the blood vessels feeding his heart. Cholestrol is contsructing his blood flow. Watch as surgeons fight to save his life after a series of heart attacks.

Alan has a life-threatening aneurysm in the main blood vessel supplying his vital organs. The vessel is so decayed it could burst at any time. Fight For Life follows the operation to replace Alan's decayed vessel with an artificial one.

Christine has been a smoker for years and the effect on her lungs has been devastating. She arrives at hospital confused and frightened - carbon dioxide is building up in her blood and poisoning her brain. Will doctors be able to save her?

John has heart failure. His weak heart makes normal life impossible and could soon kill him. The programme follows the cutting-edge procedure to implant a pacemaker using robotic surgery.

Nick's had a stroke. Watch as Fight for Life follows him through a medical procedure to try to prevent further strokes, and CGI shows what's happening inside his brain and .

Fight for Life follows Rubinder, who has been hit by a speeding car and has horrific injuries. In the first vital hour, will medical expertise and her body's defences keep her alive?

Scott has an incurable liver disease. With long waiting lists for transplants, the only other option is live donation. His first cousin volunteers to be the donor, and Fight for Life follows the 17-hour operation, showing what's happening inside both men's bodies.

Charlotte has a weak heart and is pregnant. Watch how her body must adapt to one of nature's greatest strains - carrying and delivering a baby - and how it's pushed to its limits.

Danny has broken two bones in his right leg, severing a major artery. Watch as Fight for Life shows how his body tries to minimise the damage by rerouting the blood supply, while surgeons race to save his lower leg.

Another teenager has two stab wounds, one of which has penetrated the lining around his lung. Surgeons perform a lung drain to release the build up of pressure which is causing difficulty in breathing.

Teenagers are at particular risk of alcohol poisoning, as their bodies are not used to dealing with the toxins. Two girls are rushed to hospital in this episode, and it vividly demonstrates the damage the alcohol is doing inside their bodies.

Before a child's had time to fully develop, they're particularly at risk from deadly diseases, as well as accidents. But children's bodies also have unique strengths that can help carry them back from the brink of death.

Nine-year-old James' heart is so malformed it could collapse at any time. To save him, he must suffer one of the most severe traumas a body can face - a heart transplant.

Arun, nine, is rushed to hospital suffering an asthma attack. Watch as Fight for Life shows inside his lungs as his own immune system battles to bring the attack under control.

The day a baby is born is the riskiest of its life. How does the body of a newborn react when there are complications in the delivery room? What happens to a mother's body in order to carry it through its journey of delivering a baby?

At only two hours old, baby Gabriel is already facing death. He has meconium aspiration syndrome, a result of inhaling his own excretion in the womb. Fight for Life follows his crucial first few weeks after he's rushed to Great Ormond Street Hospital for life-saving treatment.

The programme also follows a woman who needs a caesarean because her baby's in a breech position (feet first). The operation takes a turn for the worse when the medical team discovers the baby's umbilical cord is wrapped around his neck.

Birth, even without complications, is a difficult and potentially traumatic event. Watch as baby Lily moves from inside the womb, and see what happens when her body begins to take charge of its own survival.

For more information, visit BBC Parenting.

For queries about the programme, please contact fightforlife@bbc.co.uk.

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