[Morphology of experimental pneumoconiosis developing after exposure to lunar soil]

Intratracheal administration to rats of a thin fraction of lunar material delivered by the Luna-16 automatic station from the Sea of Abundance gives rise to pneumoconiosis. The disease is characterized by the formation of granulation tissue consisting of lymphoid cells, macrophages, fibroblasts and cell cooperations (rosettes), by thickening of the basal layer of the aerohematic barrier, by the development of the immune process, blockade of the terminal parts of the lymphatic network, and by the development of the fibrous process. As regards the intensity of fibrous tissue formation, the lunar material might be attributed to the group of weak-fibrogenous dust as compared, for instance, with quartz.