It is a form of lung disease that looks like ground glass on x-ray and CT scans.

The most common causes of ground-glass opacity include usual interstitial pneumonia, nonspecific interstitial pneumonitis, desquamative interstitial pneumonia, hypersensitivity pneumonitis, pulmonary oedema and pulmonary haemorrhage, and pneumonias (particularly pneumocystis carinii pneumonia). Less common causes include alveolar proteinosis, acute interstitial pneumonia or other causes of diffuse alveolar damage or the adult respiratory distress syndrome, respiratory bronchiolitis and early radiation pneumonitis.

Takeo Kimura died on March 21, 2010, in Tokyo, Japan of interstitial pneumonia.

The signs and symptoms of pneumonia and pneumonitis are usually nonspecific, consisting of fever, chills, shortness of breath, and chest pain. Fever and chills are more frequently associated with infectious pneumonias but may also be seen in pneumonitis.

Interstitial

Interstitial compartments