The pathology of influenzaWinternitz, M. C. (Milton C.)
Science
The pathology of influenza
Winternitz, M. C. (Milton C.)
Influenza
remains in this pink ribbon and then the involvement seems to be
primarily in the vessels of the wall. Not all the vessels are involved,
and next to a hyaline thrombus in one, there may be fresh blood, usually
red blood, in its neighbor. The alveolar epithelium is usually denuded
and thus accentuates the intensity of the change.
The acute death which involves the tracheal, bronchial, and bronchiolar
epithelium and which may extend beyond the epithelium into the walls of
these structures and kill en masse the walls of the alveoli, is a lesion
which does not occur in other types of acute pulmonary infection.
However, in influenza, as after exposure to pulmonary irritating gases,
it is the lesion of characterization (158,159). The effects of this
change, of course, where it involves the alveolar wall, will vary with
the extent of the process; but given an absolutely necrotic wall, as yet
unstrengthened by inflammatory reaction, an expected result would be its
rupture with respiratory movement. The point of rupture is important,
but where so many alveoli are involved, disturbance of continuity will
occur, occasionally in such position that the result will be the escape
of air into the interstitial tissues.[7] There is ample evidence that
this happens. Indeed, among the clinical manifestations of the disease,
interstitial emphysema of the lung spreading through the fascial planes
to the subcutaneous tissues of neck and thorax is well known; the
phenomenon is more frequent and extensive in influenza than in any other
disease (8, 17, 52, 143).
Interstitial emphysema is very striking at the post-mortem table. The
escaped air appears as beads along the interlobular septa, but on
account of their size they are always most conspicuous between the lobes
and along the vessels toward the hilum (162) (Fig. XVIII).
Histologically, a small bubble of escaped air confined to the
interlobular septum compresses the surrounding tissue with almost
complete atelectasis of many neighboring alveoli (Fig. XIX).
_Summary._
The diffuse involvement of all the lung tissue, chiefly with a serous
exudate in the subpleural, interstitial, perivascular, and peribronchial
tissues, as well as in the alveoli, is associated with other elements
which occur in aplastic reactions; red blood cells, fibrin, and
bacteria. Added to the aplastic exudate is an acute necrosis of
bronchial and alveolar epithelium involving at times the walls of these
structures; consequently, the histology of this disease is almost as
specific as that of any biological reaction.
(2) LOCALIZATION AND NECROTIZATION OF THE PNEUMONIC PROCESS
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