Smoking-Related "Interstitial" Lung Disease

Teri J Franks1, Jeffrey R Galvin

  • 1From Pulmonary and Mediastinal Pathology, The Joint Pathology Center, Silver Spring, Maryland (Dr Franks); and the Departments of Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Chest Imaging Section, and Internal Medicine, Pulmonary/Critical Care Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, and Chest Imaging, American Institute for Radiologic Pathology, Silver Spring, Maryland (Dr Galvin).

Summary

Cigarette smoking causes a wide spectrum of lung damage, including previously unrecognized alveolar wall fibrosis. Current diagnostic categories for smokers' lung disease need updating to include fibrosis.

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