ROENTGENOGRAPHIC CHANGES IN THE THORAX OF NORMAL NEW-BORN BABIES: A DAILY ROENTGENOGRAPHIC STUDY OF TWENTY-FIVE NORMAL BABIES DURING THE FIRST FOURTEEN DAYS OF LIFE *

The need for fuller knowledge of the roentgenographic changes that occur in the thorax of normal new-born infants during the first two weeks of life has been keenly felt by clinicians. This lack of information was brought forcibly home to us by the critical illness of an infant, 8 days old, who was seen in the nursery of the obstetric department of the Long Island College Hospital. The clinical picture was confusing, and suggested the possibility of pneumonia or intracranial injury. A roentgenogram of the thorax showed diffuse pulmonary mottling, particularly peribronchial, which extended well toward the parenchyma of the lung. There were numerous pea-sized or slightly larger opaque shadows about the hilum of the right lung. The resumblance to roentgenograms considered typical of bronchopneumonic consolidation of later infancy was striking. In order to decide the importance of these shadows, it seemed essential to know whether roentgenograms of the thorax