21649              CHRONIC INACTIVE TUBERCULOSIS

This patient was a man aged 78 who died in his sleep from myocardial infarction.  He had a history of tuberculosis of both lungs and the right hip 12 years previously and an earlier myocardial infarction 4 years ago.  At postmortem old inactive tuberculous foci were present in the upper lobes of each lung.

The specimen is of the left lung sectioned to show several encapsulated caseous tuberculous deposits about 6 mms in diameter at the apex.  There is marked fibrosis, pigmentation and bronchiectasis in the intervening lung.  A further encapsulated caseous focus is present on the posterior border of the lung 14 cms below the apex in the lower lobe.  The pleura is thickened and adherent throughout, but especially at the apex and over the posterior surface of the upper lobe.  The remainder of the lung showed moderate focal centrilobular emphysema with anthracosis.