Pulmonary emphysema, as the term is generally used clinically, refers to an overinfiation or distention of the lungs (localized or diffuse), characterized by a relative increase in the amount of air which cannot be blown out with a forced expiration. The residual air capacity plus the vital capacity equals total observed lung capacity (TLC) for the individual, and in pulmonary emphysema the TLC...

BACKGROUND Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is a major inflammatory disease of the airways and an enormous therapeutic challenge. Within the spectrum of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pulmonary emphysema is characterized by the destruction of the alveolar walls with an increase in the air spaces distal to the terminal bronchioles but without significant pulmonary fibrosis. Therapeu...

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES Pulmonary vascular alteration is one of the characteristic features of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Recent studies suggest that vascular alteration is closely related to endothelial dysfunction and may be further influenced by emphysema. However, the relationship between morphological alteration of small pulmonary vessels and the extent of emphysema has...

Persistent pulmonary interstitial emphysema is a chronic disease reported in mechanically ventilated premature newborns. We describe a case of localized persistent pulmonary interstitial emphysema in a preterm infant without mechanical ventilation but on continuous positive airway pressure using nasal prongs. The condition resolved without surgery.

The etiology of chronic obstructive pulmonary emphysema is frequently uncertain, and the known laboratory procedures leading to a specmc diagnosis are often unrevealing. In this paper, chronic obstructive pulmonary emphysema will be discussed with reference to sweat electrolytes and the disease entity, cystic fibrosis of the pancreas. Pediatric literature frequently associates chronic obstructi...

Objectives. In medico-legal autopsy related to decompression illness (DCI) in divers, it is important to differentiate between postmortem decompression and antemortem decompression; however, definitive criteria for autopsy diagnosis of DCI remain to be established. We aimed to clarify autopsy findings that would aid the diagnosis of DCI. Methods. A total of 27 Wistar and 33 Zucker fatty male ra...

Pulmonary emphysema, together with chronic bronchitis is a part of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which is one of the leading causes of death in the United States and worldwide. There are many methods to diagnose emphysema. Unfortunately many of them, for example pulmonary function tests (PFTs), clinical signs and conventional radiology are able to detect emphysema usually in its...

Pulmonary emphysema is an important radiological finding in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients, but bacteriological differences in pneumonia patients according to the severity of emphysematous changes have not been reported. Therefore, we evaluated the bacteriological incidence in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of pneumonia patients using cultivation and a culture-independe...

Pulmonary interstitial emphysema is a rare condition that generally affects low-weight preterm infants submitted to mechanical ventilation. The prognosis is variable, depending on early diagnosis and treatment. The radiologist plays a key role in this scenario. The authors report a case of persistent pulmonary interstitial emphysema, describing the main characteristics of such entity.