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Asbestos

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Pulmonary Pathology

Abstract

Asbestos, a fibrous mineral rock of the earth’s crust, is well known as a potential causative agent of pulmonary disease. Throughout the past 25 years there has been increasing interest in the pathogenesis of asbestos lung disease, with emphasis on mineralogy and epidemiology as well as its pathology. Such studies have been timely because we are now experiencing an explosion of asbestos-associated lung diseases, resulting in large part from occupational exposures during World War II. This lengthy clinical latency period of 20–40 years is primarily responsible for the initial failure of industry to appreciate the potentially devastating effects of this respirable fiber.

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© 1988 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Greenberg, S.D. (1988). Asbestos. In: Dail, D.H., Hammar, S.P. (eds) Pulmonary Pathology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-3932-9_22

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-3932-9_22

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