RADIATION PNEUMONITIS - CASE REPORT OF BILATERAL REACTION AFTER UNILATERAL IRRADIATION

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Abstract
Irradiation of the mediastinum and right lung for lymphosarcoma was followed by progressive respiratory distress and death. Autopsy examination revealed radiation pneumonitis of the right lung and an equally pronounced and indistinguishable reaction of the left lung. It is suggested that the bilateral reaction was due to blockage of the outflow tract for alveolar macrophages in a dynamic cell system in which cell renewal is in balance with cell depletion. It is further suggested that the critical factor in the pathogenesis of the early stage of radiation pneumonitis may be the patency of the lymph vessels that drain the lung.

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