Immunological aspects of chronic non-infectious pulmonary diseases of the lower respiratory tract in man.

These observations demonstrate that many of the chronic lung disorders of the lower respiratory tract are mediated by inflammatory and immune mechanisms. In fact, it is this inflammatory lesion which mediates permanent injury to the alveolar structures. Bronchoalveolar lavage has been an extremely useful procedure to evaluate the inflammatory process of these disorders. More recently, these types of evaluations have been utilized in making therapy decisions in patients with these disorders. Although much still remains to be learned about most of the chronic disorders of the lower respiratory tract, these types of studies have set the stage so that these evaluations can occur in the future.