Emphysema is a progressive and incapacitating disease, and, although its description is precise and dogmatic in most textbooks, the majority of cases diagnosed on the post-mortem table are not recognized during life, many experienced physicians admitting that they do not understand the diagnosis of emphysema, except in its later stages. Even the term "emphysema" is ambiguous: in these lectures it is used to mean chronic vesicular or hypertrophic emphysema of the lungs, it being understood that acute emphysema, senile emphysema, and localized emphysema are probably separate and distinct entities. I will discuss first the nature of the lesion as shown by observation of the living subject as well as by necropsy.

Emphysema of the lungs is a progressive, incapacitating disease, with its diagnosis often based on post-mortem examination, and its nature is influenced by the patient's age, smoking habits, and other factors.

Emphysema of the Lungs—I*