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This 63-year-old white male was in his usual state of good health until eight weeks before his death when he developed sudden onset of shortness of breath. A thoracotomy was performed for plication of ruptured emphysematous blebs. Following improvement and discharge from the hospital he developed weakness, lethargy, and a left lower lobe lung infiltrate. The patient's condition soon deteriorated further, with almost every organ system having failed. The patient developed DIC and peripheral embolic phenomena, including gangrene of his extremities and face. A single antemortem blood culture grew Staphylococcus aureus. Autopsy revealed severe emphysema, severe widespread abscessiform and necrotizing pneumonia, and bacterial (Staphylococcus aureus) endocarditis of the pulmonic valve. The right internal carotid artery was occluded by a thrombus and there were areas of necrosis (due to CVAs) in the brain.