SERIES PATHOLOGY FOR THE CLINICIAN The role of macrophages in interstitial lung diseases Giulio Rossi1, Alberto Cavazza2, Paolo Spagnolo3,4, Salvatore Bellafiore2, Elisabetta Kuhn2, Pierpaolo Carassai1, Laura Caramanico1, Gloria Montanari5, Gaia Cappiello6, Alessandro Andreani7, Francesca Bono8 and Nazarena Nannini9 Number 3 in the Series “Pathology for the clinician” Edited by Peter Dorfmüller and Alberto Cavazza Affiliations: 1Unit of Pathologic Anatomy, Azienda USL Valle d’Aosta, Regional Hospital “Parini”, Aosta, Italy. 2Unit of Pathologic Anatomy, Azienda Arcispedale S. Maria Nuova/IRCCS, Reggio Emilia, Italy. 3Medical University Clinic, Canton Hospital Baselland University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland. 4Section of Respiratory Diseases, Dept of Cardiac, Thoracic and Vascular Sciences, University of Padua, Padua, Italy. 5Unit of Pneumology, Azienda Arcispedale S. Maria Nuova/IRCCS, Reggio Emilia, Italy. 6Unit of Pneumology, Azienda USL Modena, Civic Hospital of Mirandola, Mirandola, Italy. 7Unit of Pneumology, Azienda Ospedaliero- Universitaria Policlinico, Modena, Italy. 8Unit of Pathologic Anatomy, San Gerardo Hospital, IRCCS, Monza, Italy. 9Unit of Pathologic Anatomy, Azienda ULSS 13, Hospital of Dolo, Dolo, Italy. Correspondence: Giulio Rossi, Unit of Pathologic Anatomy, Azienda USL Valle d’Aosta, Regional Hospital “Parini”, Via Ginevra 3, 11100 Aosta, Italy. E-mail:
[email protected] @ERSpublications Morphology and localisation of macrophages in the lungs is helpful in the diagnosis of interstitial lung disease http://ow.ly/7bci30bBwmQ Cite this article as: Rossi G, Cavazza A, Spagnolo P, et al. The role of macrophages in interstitial lung diseases. Eur Respir Rev 2017; 26: 170009 [https://doi.org/10.1183/16000617.0009-2017]. ABSTRACT The finding of collections of macrophages/histiocytes in lung biopsy and bronchoalveolar lavage is relatively common in routine practice.