in the study of pulmonary diseases developed while he was working as a newly graduated medical student in the chronically ill division of the Ospedale Maggiore in Milan. During this years, he started to conceive devices with the objective to increase lung ventilation in people with tuberculosis. In his effort to build said device, he was aided by his brother Enrico Forlanini (a skilled engineer and one of the pioneers of air flight). Development With the assistance of his brother, Carlo Forlanini designed and constructed a simple device capable of administering gases intrapleurally. The presence of gas in the intrapleural fluid caused the lung to collapse, therefore creating an artificial pneumothorax. After having built the device, Forlanini tried treating two cases of tuberculosis by inducing a pneumothorax in the two patients and obtained positive results. The device used in the treatment, later referred to as "pneumo device", consisted of a hollow needle, a hydraulic pump and a pressure gauge, as well as two nitrogen reservoirs. During his experiments, Forlanini noticed that the pleura bears the presence of air quite well, however oxygen was absorbed more quickly than other gases. This prompted him to use nitrogen, which had to be administered everyday in small quantities (if the gas was absorbed too quickly, the dose had to be increased). As the absorptive capacity of the pleura lessens over time, the interval between the injections could be lengthened after a few months. Findings and publications In the year following his experiments (1895) Forlanini reported the successful outcome of his artificial pneumothorax in the journal "Gazzetta Medica di Torino". However, the full report on his experiments and the extent of his research only came in 1906 (report based on 25 cases). After 1895, Forlanini's findings were mostly met with indifference in the Italian medical community (in some cases Italian physicians proved to be hostile towards the new technique). Despite this, Forlanini persevered in his research and perfected the artificial pneumothorax, granting him an even deeper understanding of the procedure itself. This allowed him to present an authoritative report on his artificial pneumothorax during the Seventh International Congress on Tuberculosis in Rome (in 1912), for which he received great praise. After 1912 Forlanini's technique for artificial pneumothorax started spreading all over Europe and the United States, prompting many other physicians to adopt this technique. Over the years, Forlanini's technique was further developed and improved, therefore