Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
5
pubmed:dateCreated
1987-7-16
pubmed:abstractText
Animal studies suggest that mesothelioma is most effectively induced by fibers longer than 8 mu. However, studies of asbestos fibers recovered from human lungs in cases of mesothelioma indicate that, at least in large-scale samples, relatively few fibers meet this size criterion, perhaps implying that the animal data do not apply to man. Since asbestos concentration in lung is known to be extremely inhomogeneous, it is also possible that long fibers may selectively accumulate in specific sites, such as under the pleura. To examine this possibility, we selected ten cases of mesothelioma that contained relatively large amounts of amosite asbestos and extracted fibers from an 0.5-cm-thick strip of subpleural tissue and an area 3-cm deep to the subpleural sample for upper and lower lobes. Amosite fibers were identified and sized by electron microscopic techniques. Fibers in the peripheral upper lobe were significantly longer, broader, and of higher aspect ratio than those in the central upper lobe. The lower lobe showed a reverse pattern, with longer fibers and broader fibers in the central sample. These data indicate that the two lobes behave differently in regard to fiber size, with selective accumulation of long fibers in the peripheral upper lobe, but not in the peripheral lower lobe. Whether these differences reflect differences in initial deposition of fibers within the lung, or, more likely, specific redistribution of fibers, is unclear, but in either case, accumulation of long fibers immediately under the upper lobe pleura may be important in the genesis of mesothelioma.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:issn
0271-3586
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
11
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
563-9
pubmed:dateRevised
2006-11-15
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
1987
pubmed:articleTitle
Accumulation of long asbestos fibers in the peripheral upper lobe in cases of malignant mesothelioma.
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't