Asbestosis
Asbestosis is caused by breathing in asbestos fibers. If asbestos gets into the lungs by breathing it in, it causes a disease called pulmonary fibrosis. It is one of the asbestos related occupational diseases mostly of the past and a restrictive lung disease. It does not affect a lot of new people, because most countries have banned the use of asbestos. After learning about the health hazards of the mineral, most but not all countries have banned its use, and it also took a long time to see the result of exposure. Asbestos can affect people up to 40 years after first inhaling asbestos.[1]
It is not to be confused with mesothelioma, a cancer of the pleural spaces and ovary or testicles, also caused by breathing asbestos fibers.
Countries where asbestos is used today
There are more countries which use asbestos and this list does not include all of the countries involved.
Asbestosis Media
White asbestos fibers identified in room air analysis, magnified 5000 times using a scanning electron microscope
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Micrograph of asbestosis showing the characteristic ferruginous bodies and marked interstitial fibrosis (or scarring). H&E stain.
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Close-up asbestosis right lower zone ILO 2/2 S/S
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Figure A shows the location of the lungs, airways, pleura, and diaphragm in the body. Figure B shows lungs with asbestos-related diseases, including pleural plaque, lung cancer, asbestosis, plaque on the diaphragm, and mesothelioma.
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Extensive fibrosis of pleura and lung parenchyma
The arrow points to an uncoated segment of asbestos fiber in this ferruginous body.
Severe pleural fibrosis with focal calcification
The black arrows point to ferrugionous bodies that are located at the periphery of a focus of non-small cell lung carcinoma, NOS.
61-year-old working industrially with asbestos for decades
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References
- ↑ Wilkinson, Ian; Raine, Tim; Wiles, Kate; Hateley, Peter; Kelly, Dearbhla; McGurgan, Iain (2024). Oxford handbook of clinical medicine. Oxford medical handbooks - mixed (11 ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-884402-0.