ABSTRACT

The book, The Diseases of the Lungs’, was published in 1898. In the chapter, ‘Bronchiectasis in Children,’ Sir James Kingston Fowler and Rickman John Godlee used the term ‘honeycomb appearance’ in their description of the pathologic findings. Their discussion of the morbid anatomy was as follows: ‘The lesions which specially characterize the most acute cases are: (a) acute peribronchitis; (b) dilatation of the bronchioles throughout extensive areas of the lungs, or almost the whole of both organs; (c) the presence of innumerable small cavities, which give the lungs a worm-eaten or honeycomb appearance; and (d) the presence on the surface of the lungs of small vesicles containing air.’ Apparently the term worm-eaten did not catch on. They also stated, ‘The exact pathology of the condition known as ‘honeycomb lung’ is not yet determined.’ Today the term honeycomb lung is used by radiologists to describe any pathologic process leading to a chest radiographic appearance with multiple small (3–10 mm) thick-walled cystic spaces (Figure 1). The pattern also may be exquisitely shown using high resolution computerized tomographic scanning (Figure 2). Chest radiograph showing hone/comb pattern (author’s case) https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9781003076568/34c29fd5-5662-4e8f-b58c-badd7fa5d724/content/fig42_1_B.jpg"/> Computerized tomography scan with honeycombing. Case courtesy of Dr C. White, University of Maryland https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9781003076568/34c29fd5-5662-4e8f-b58c-badd7fa5d724/content/fig42_2_B.jpg"/>