expression, godan verb (-mu)
suffer from lung disease; become consumptive
Literary or old-fashioned expression for contracting a lung disease, especially tuberculosis. In modern Japanese, 肺を病む or specific medical terms are more common.
彼は若くして胸を病み、療養所に入った。
He suffered from a lung disease at a young age and entered a sanatorium.
More specific and modern way to say 'suffer from a lung disease', while 胸を病む is an older, broader expression.
Compound of 胸 (chest) + を + 病む (to be ill). The exact historical derivation is uncertain; the expression is conventionally associated with lung diseases.