Cadmium chloride-induced emphysema in lathyrogenic hamsters

Pulmonary emphysema constitutes a major worldwide public health problem which, with chronic bronchitis, ranks second only to coronary artery disease as a cause of disability compensation in the U.S. The major causative factor identified is cigarette smoking. Emphysema is characterized anatomically by the destruction of lung parenchyma. Since the interstitial connective tissue proteins provide the major structural framework of the lung parenchyma, studies on the pathogenesis of emphysema have emphasized factors which might affect the integrity of this matrix, particularly elastin and collagen fibers.