[Diagnostic bronchoalveolar lavage].

The bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) is an important new method in the diagnosis of several lung diseases. It is shown that there are clear differences in the cytological pictures allowing an assertion of the activity of disease. Therefore BAL is suitable for follow-up studies during the treatment. In contrast to other authors BAL is performed during an otherwise indicated bronchoscopy under general anesthesia using a catheter.