[Autopsies of coal workers with chronic bronchitis].
OBJECTIVE
To study the pathological features of chronic bronchitis in coal miners.


METHODS
Pathological specimens collected in postmortem examinations for 180 deceased coal miners were analyzed.


RESULTS
Among the 180 deceased coal miners, there were 155 cases of chronic bronchitis, with a prevalence rate of 86.1%, mainly affecting bronchia and bronchiole. No correlation between chronic bronchitis and coal worker pneumoconiosis was found. The most apparent features of chronic bronchitis in coal miners include dust deposition and dust cell infiltration on the walls of bronchi at all levels, and dust fibrosis around the bronchial walls, with the most severe pathological change of dust deposition on the respiratory bronchiole.


CONCLUSIONS
Most of the coal miners with chronic bronchitis (accounting for 80.0% of the total) manifested dust deposition and mixture of dust deposition and inflammation. Simple inflammatory bronchitis was rare.
D001980:Bronchi / Q000473:pathology; D001991:Bronchitis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology*; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003032:Coal Mining; D004391:Dust / Q000009:adverse effects; D006801:Humans; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology*; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects