Bulletin Board
Archived Bulletin Board
About John
Latest Ideas
Symptoms
Tests and Drugs
Weight Loss Experiment
Hyperthyroidism
Hypothyroidism
Supplement List
Medical Science
Heredity
Other Diseases
Thyroid Physiology
Deeper Studies
Nutrients and Toxics
Hair Analysis
Book Reports
Glossary
Table of Contents | |
SILICON
-
: Rev Med Univ Navarra 1998 Oct-Dec;42(4):208-19 |
|
[Pulmonary fibrosis caused by inhalation: silicosis].
[Article in Spanish]
Ortuno Pacheco G
Catedra de Anatomia Patologica, Universidad de Murcia.
Silicosis is an important disease not only for its prevalence and the
degree of pulmonary insufficiency it entails but also because it provides a
natural model of interstitial fibrotic disease in the lung which is of known
origin. This can, in turn, help us understand the pathogenic nature of a
great number of pulmonary fibroses whose cause is unknown. The fifty
postmortem studies which we describe correspond to miners who had worked in
underground mines in the mountainous region near Cartagena (SE Spain) for
times ranging from 5 to 36 years. The autopsies showed that they had been
exposed to dust containing abundant metallic particles, particularly iron
oxide (mixed dust). Although the pathogenic action was related with silica,
it was also clearly modified by the composition of the dust associated with
it. The basic lesions which are produced in the lung after inhalation of
silica (< 5 microns diameter) are coniosis, fibroconiosis and
sclerohyalinosis. The sclerohyalino nodules are characterized by abundant
collagenization and hyalinization, different types of which can be
distinguished according to the disposition of the collagenous fibres.
Nodular lesions gradually grow in size even when exposure to dust has
ceased. As they grow they get nearer until they join to form conglomerate
masses. When the diameter exceeds 3 cm this is called massive fibrosis. Pulmonary
tuberculosis was found in 27% of cases. This took the form of lesions,
which could be associated to or independent of silicotic lesions. Besides
evolutive nodular lesions, a patient suffering from silicosis may show other
unspecific lesions which must be correctly evaluated for a more correct
clinical-pathological assessment, since, clinically, the respiratory
function may be profoundly affected although such silicotic damage may be
not very noticeable by radiological examination. Silicosis of the liver
and spleen was not infrequent in the autopsies carried out, with basic
lesions in all evolutive states being observed, the most evolved in the
spleen. This means that silicosis should be considered as a systemic
illness.
PMID: 10420932, UI: 99349417
|