Abstract
Asbestos fiber concentration increases in proportion to the degree of pulmonary fibrosis as far as the moderate grade. No such correlation occurs with severe asbestosis, nor with the morphological form which the fibrosis assumes, and here secondary factors may be concerned. Electron microscopy suggests that optically visible fibers constitute a reasonably constant proportion of the total irrespective of the pathological reaction. Light microscopy may thus afford a guide to the total asbestos concentration. Finally, the development of mesothelioma, whether of the pleura or the peritoneum, appears to be unrelated to the concentration of coated or uncoated asbestos fibers residing in the lung.
Full text
PDF
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Ashcroft T., Heppleston A. G. The optical and electron microscopic determination of pulmonary asbestos fibre concentration and its relation to the human pathological reaction. J Clin Pathol. 1973 Mar;26(3):224–234. doi: 10.1136/jcp.26.3.224. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]