ALVEOLAR FENESTRAE - RELATIONSHIP TO PATHOLOGY AND PATHOGENESIS OF PULMONARY EMPHYSEMA

Abstract

In the present morphologic study of pulmonary emphysema, the whole lung was examined in an inflated state. In the adult male population studied, the incidence of pathologic evidence of emphysema was extremely high, but clinical manifestations were infrequently found. Emphysema was characterized by focal destructive lesions with large amounts of black pigment and many histiocytes. The final residuals of damage were vascular strands. Although there was little fibrosis, alveolar fenestrae were a constant finding within destroyed portions of lung. Their number, form, location, size, and associated findings are described. The consequences of the action of surface-active material upon alveolar fenestrae are described. Since they are one of the reliable criteria of lesions of emphysema, investigation of the pathogenesis of emphysema must deal with the mechanisms of formation of fenestrae.