OBLITERATING THROMBOSIS OF THE PULMONARY ARTERIES

Abstract

OBLITERATING thrombosis of the pulmonary artery or its main branches is a relatively uncommon condition if those cases which occur as a com-plication of surgical procedures or the puerperal state are excluded. The incidence of the condition cannot be determined from the published reports which, for the most part, appear as pathological studies on single cases. Billings 1 found 16 cases in 6200 autopsies, an incidence of 0.26 per cent, and included only those in which he felt that an embolic origin had been excluded. Six cases were found in 935 consecutive autopsies at the University Hospital, including those associated with operative procedures and septicemia. No study of a large series has been made to determine the common etiological and semeiographic features and it is for this reason that the present case is reported and the available literature reviewed. A thorough search, with the collection of all reported cases, has not been attempted. Those reports which are concerned primarily with postoperative and postpartum cases have been omitted, as have those of multiple thrombosis of the smaller branches