Images of Memorable Cases: Case 105 105. Contarini’s condition The term used to indicate bilateral pleural effusions, each with markedly different characteristics and distinctly different mechanisms. It honors Francesco Contarini (1556-1624), the 95th Doge of the Venetian Republic, whose autopsy showed right-sided hydrothorax consequent to heart failure and left-sided empyema presumably resulting from a lung abscess. The radiograph and pleural fluids shown were from a man with malignant lymphoma that had infiltrated the pleura on the left, causing a bloody effusion, while simultaneously obstructing the thoracic duct on the right, causing a chylous effusion.