title: Clearance of asbestos bodies from the lung: a personal view.
abstract: In histological sections asbestos bodies in human lungs may be either transparent, yellow, strongly Perls-positive structures as described in published reports, or opaque, black structures, the ferroprotein coating having been converted into haemosiderin. The transparent asbestos bodies fragment into segments; the black asbestos bodies disintegrate into a mass of haemosiderin granules that accumulate as dense deposits, particularly near to blood vessels. The presence of haemosiderin granules indicates that asbestos bodies have broken down. When a patient has died with a mesothelioma there is little evidence of phagocytic activity in many areas of the lung. When exposure to asbestos ceased many years before a mesothelioma developed there may be few recognisable asbestos bodies remaining in the lung.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001194:Asbestos / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006485:Hemosiderin / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008297:Male; D008654:Mesothelioma / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D008875:Middle Aged; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D001194:Asbestos; D006485:Hemosiderin