Pulmonary veno-occlusive disease

A case of pulmonary veno-occlusive disease with marked pseudoangiomatous histologic features is presented. Similar histologic findings have been briefly cited in previous reports of this entity. The pseudoangiomatous features are attributable to (1) remarkably recanalized pulmonary veins, (2) marked lymphangiectasia, and (3) the development of capillary collateral channels which drain to the bronchial venous system. Hemoptysis was a prominent clinical finding in the terminal phase of this patient's illness. We suggest that rupture of varices of the bronchial veins may in part ac-count for the episodes of hemoptysis. Varices of the bronchial veins have also been implicated as a source of hemoptysis in cases of mitral stenosis-another disorder which produces marked pulmonary venous hypertension.