Pathogenesis

Asbestosis is the scarring of lung tissue (around terminal bronchioles and alveolar ducts) resulting from the inhalation of asbestos fibers.[9] There are two types of fibers: amphibole (thin and straight) and serpentine (curved). The former are primarily liable for human disease as they're able to penetrate deeply into the lungs. When such fibers reach the alveoli (air sacs) in the lung, the place oxygen is transferred into the blood, the foreign our bodies (asbestos fibers) trigger the activation of the lung's local immune system and provoke an inflammatory reaction. This inflammatory reaction could be described as  power quite than acute, with a gradual ongoing development of the immune system in an try and eliminate the international fibers. Macrophages phagocytose (ingest) the fibers and stimulate fibroblasts to deposit connective tissue. As a result of asbestos fibers' pure resistance to digestion, the macrophage dies off, releasing cytokines and attracting further lung macrophages and fibrolastic cells to put down fibrous tissue, which eventually forms a fibrous mass. The result is interstitial fibrosis. The fibrotic scar tissue causes alveolar walls to thicken, which reduces elasticity and gasoline diffusion, decreasing oxygen transfer to the blood in addition to the elimination of carbon dioxide.