Shortly after the introduction of the stethoscope and the recognition of the increasing importance of the physical examination in the diagnosis of thoracic diseases, a hundred years ago, William Stokes, the distinguished Irish clinician, wrote as follows: “It has been objected to the advocates of the stethoscope that they discard the consideration of symptoms, and that throwing overboard all the knowledge we possessed previous to the introduction of auscultation, they pretend to ascertain the existence of all diseases of the chest by the sole observation of physical signs.” Stokes pointed out that such an attitude was wholly groundless and betrayed an ignorance of the subject. The implication to be found in Stokes' writings is that the new discovery of the stethoscope did not replace a consideration of the history and of the symptoms but, rather, emphasized and gave a new value to the older methods. Indeed, one might with equal propriety point out at the present time the importance of recognizing that neither bacteriology or roentgenology, nor yet bronchoscopy, can replace a careful study of the history, the symptoms, and the physical findings in a given case. Indeed, it is of first importance to recognize that in the modern diagnosis of diseases of the chest there are no short-cuts; that diagnosis is dependent upon a careful consideration of the history and symptoms, a painstaking physical examination (and not only of the chest), repeated and dependable laboratory studies, and skillful roentgenologic and bronchoscopic examinations. This requires the team work of internist, roentgenologist, bronchoscopist, and surgeon; and it is only by team work that the maximum of diagnostic accuracy and therapeutic success can be achieved in that group of diseases which are briefly discussed in this symposium—pulmonary abscess, bronchiectasis, and bronchial carcinoma. Pulmonary Suppuration Cough and the expectoration of mucopurulent sputum occur in a variety of non-tuberculous bronchopulmonary lesions. The term, “pulmonary suppuration,” though widely used, is indefinite and there is little excuse for its use except as a tentative designation for a group of diseases, the separation of which is essential in treatment. The group includes the pulmonary suppurative changes resulting from an aspirated foreign body, pulmonary abscess following acute respiratory tract infection and surgical operation (especially on the upper respiratory tract), abscess secondary to bronchopulmonary newgrowths, bronchiectasis, and a miscellaneous group, e.g., the pulmonary suppurative lesions which result from the extension of suppuration of the pleura and mediastinum. Bronchial obstruction from any cause tends to favor the occurrence of abscess and bronchiectasis, both of which lesions, in varying predominance, may be present in the same patient.