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Updated: May 26, 2026

A Silicosis Mouse Model Established by Repeated Inhalation of Crystalline Silica Dust
Published on: January 6, 2023
Silicosis caused by chronic inhalation of snail shell powder
Jae Woo Jung1, Byung Ook Lee, Jae Hee Lee
1Department of Internal Medicine, Chung-Ang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Abstract:
A 70-yr-old woman visited our hospital for shortness of breath. Chest CT showed ground glass opacity and traction bronchiectasis at right middle, lower lobe and left lingular division. Video-assisted thoracic surgical biopsy at right lower lobe and pathologic examination revealed mixed dust pneumoconiosis. Polarized optical microscopy showed lung lesions were consisted of silica and carbon materials. She was a housewife and never been exposed to silica dusts occupationally. She has taken freshwater snails as a health-promoting food for 40 yr and ground shell powder was piled up on her backyard where she spent day-time. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy of snail shell and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy of lung lesion revealed that silica occupies important portion. Herein, we report the first known case of silicosis due to chronic inhalation of shell powder of freshwater snail.
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