expression, godan verb (-u)
suffer from lung disease; have lung trouble
A somewhat old-fashioned or literary expression for having a chronic lung condition, especially pulmonary tuberculosis. In modern Japanese, more specific medical terms are usually preferred.
彼は若い頃に胸を患って、長く療養所にいたそうだ。
I heard that he suffered from lung disease when he was young and spent a long time in a sanatorium.
胸を患う者は、この村では昔多かった。
In the old days, there were many people in this village who had lung trouble.