The Pathologic Anatomy of Influenzal Bronchopneumonia

In this report, based on approximately 200 necropsies, no attempt will be made to distinguish between changes due to the unknown virus and those from mixed or secondary infection; only the most outstanding features are discussed. Perhaps the most lasting impression from long association with lobar pneumonia in postmortem examination is that when it alone is responsible for death, with very few exceptions,1a considerable part of the total pulmonary parenchyma is consolidated, undistensible and heavier than normal; even when limited to one upper lobe, that lobe is as a rule huge, and the lung weight as a consequence frequently doubled. Therefore, the first feature of the lungs in influenza to attract attention was the relatively small amount of lung tissue solid with grossly demonstrable pneumonia. Even when measured, the total of such regions is so small that it is difficult to ascribe death to the pneumonia with an