We show that the Hilbert and Chapman-Enskog asymptotic treatments that reduce the nonlinear Boltzmann equation to the Euler and Navier-Stokes fluid equations have analogs in linear transport theory. In this linear setting, these fluid limits are described by diffusion equations, involving familiar and less familiar diffusion coefficients. Because of the linearity extant, one can carry out explicitly the initial and boundary layer analyses required to obtain asymptotically consistent initial and boundary conditions for the diffusion equations. In particular, the effects of boundary curvature and boundary condition variation along the surface can be included in the boundary layer analysis. A brief review of heuristic (nonasymptotic) diffusion description derivations is also included in our discussion.