Under current concepts of management, pulmonary tuberculosis is treated by antibiotics and chemothera-peutic agents. Surgery is called upon to handle residuals of lung destruction that cannot or do not respond to these agents, threatening the patient's ultimate security thereby. Timing Of Surgical Intervention It would seem ideal to observe the course of pulmonary tuberculosis under chemotherapy and resort to surgical intervention only at a time when it could be demonstrated unequivocally that medical management would be inadequate. Because of the fact, however, that the commonly used drugs provoke resistance on the part of the tubercle bacillus, and because of the poor results attendant upon resective surgery except when carried out under protection of chemotherapy, this expectant attitude is not advised. Thus it is, that, when the disease has been brought under control by chemotherapy so that surgical intervention can be safely carried out, an evaluation of the anatomical residuals is in order to demons...