On chest X-ray, emphysema would most characteristically show which finding in the pulmonary vasculature?

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Emphysema reduces the number of pulmonary capillaries by destroying alveolar walls, so the network of small vessels seen on a chest radiograph becomes less conspicuous. This loss of vascular bed is most evident when the lungs are hyperinflated, which further spreads the markings apart and makes them appear diminished, especially in the peripheral lungs. So the characteristic radiographic finding is decreased vascular markings. Increased markings would suggest edema or infiltrates; normal markings are unlikely with the structural loss seen in emphysema; vascular crowding in the hila points to edema or other interstitial processes rather than emphysema.