Abstract

MacFarlane, A., and Davies, D. (1973).Thorax,28, 768-776. Diffuse lymphoid interstitial pneumonia. A woman developed linear shadows in the chest radiograph at the age of 54 years. Over the next 11 years she gradually became thin and breathless. When she died she had clubbing of the fingers and extensive consolidation with some honeycombing in her lungs. Necropsy examination showed large yellowish-brown deposits in the lungs. Microscopically these were composed of sheets of mature lymphocytes. There was complete destruction of the lung architecture and there were deposits of hyaline material. In the less affected areas the distribution was interstitial. Other organs were not involved. There was no evidence that this was a localized tumour of lymphatic origin. The condition is best regarded as a rare variety of interstitial pneumonia, the classification of which is reviewed briefly.