Correlation of asbestos bodies and fibers in lungs of subjects with and without asbestosis.
We compared the numbers of asbestos bodies in 2 histologic sections of lung from 25 subjects showing a wide range of total asbestos burden with the numbers of asbestos bodies and fibers (analyzed by electron diffraction and x-ray spectroscopy) extracted from the lung. We also compared the numbers of extracted asbestos bodies with the numbers of fibers in 24 other subjects. Histologic and extracted asbestos bodies were correlated best with total asbestos fibers and with amosite and crocidolite fibers, and not at all with chrysotile fibers. Nevertheless, the total fiber count could not be reliably estimated from the count of either histologic or extracted bodies. Although asbestos bodies appeared to be fairly uniformly distributed in these lungs, detection of early fibrosis or asbestosis required careful examination of all portions of the parenchyma. When we defined asbestos histologically as clusters of 3 or more asbestos bodies adjacent to areas of fibrosis, we found that subjects with asbestosis had more than 240,000 asbestos fibers/g of wet lung. The nature of the disease in lungs showing fibrosis and more than 240,000 fibers/g, but only isolated asbestos bodies, is uncertain.
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001194:Asbestos / Q000032:analysis*; D001195:Asbestosis / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000473:pathology / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D008297:Male; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D008875:Middle Aged; D013194:Staining and Labeling
D001194:Asbestos