Pulmonary asbestosis--an example of industrial diffuse lung disease

This account reviews the clinical and pathological features of asbestosis, with a brief comment on the incidence of asbestosis in workers exposed occupationally to Western Australian crocidolite at Wittenoom Gorge. In keeping with common usage, the term "asbestosis" is restricted to pulmonary parenchymal fibrosis--with or without associated visceral pleural fibrosis--related to inhalation of asbestos fibres, thereby excluding parietal pleural fibrous plaques. The mechanisms underlying the development of the interstitial fibrosis are incompletely understood, but they appear to involve complex interactions of asbestos with alveolar macrophages, fibroblasts, lymphocytes and the complement system.