Asbestosis is a chronic inflammatory disease affecting the parenchymal tissue (the bulk) of the lungs. The primary symptom is the slow onset of shortness of breath (dyspnea) on exertion.
In more advanced and severe cases it may lead to respiratory failure. Asbestosis occurs after long-term and heavy exposure to asbestos, for example in mining and manufacturing of asbestos products and is therefore regarded as an occupational lung disease.
Coughing is not regarded as a typical symptom unless the patient has other respiratory tract diseases.
Malignant mesothelioma is a fatal form of cancer that develops in the mesothelium, the protective sac that surrounds the body’s internal organs, such as the lungs, heart, stomach and reproductive organs. The mesothelium is made up of two layers of cells; one layer immediately covers the organ and the other forms the sac around it.
The mesothelium produces a lubricating fluid between the layers allowing movement of the organs so that they can move easily within the body, such as the inflating and deflating lungs, or beating heart against surrounding structures.
The vast majority of people develop mesothelioma as a result of exposure to asbestos fibres. The fibres lodge in a patient’s body either through inhalation or swallowing, affecting the lungs, stomach and/or reproductive organs. Exposure to asbestos often occurs 20 to 40 years prior to the mesothelioma diagnosis.
There are several different types of mesothelioma, including:
- mesothelioma of the pleura, which affects a patient’s lungs and is the most
- common form of mesothelioma;
- mesothelioma of the peritoneum, which affects a patient’s stomach;
- mesothelioma of the pericardium, which affects a patient’s heart and is an extremely rare form of mesothelioma; and
- mesothelioma of the tunica vaginalis testis (men) or the tunica serosa uteri (women), which affects a patient’s reproductive organs and is also an extremely rare form of mesothelioma.
CT Scan of a Patient With Mesothelioma
The mesothelioma is indicated by yellow arrows, the central pleural effusion (fluid collection) is marked with a yellow star.
- right lung,
- left lung,
- descending part of the aorta,
- left kidney,
- right kidney,
A transverse section of the thorax, showing the contents of the middle and the posterior mediastinum. The pleural and pericardial cavities are exaggerated since normally there is no space between parietal and visceral pleura and between pericardium and heart.
Diagram of a Pleural Membrane
A transverse section of the chest, showing the contents of the middle and the posterior mediastinum. The pleural and pericardial cavities are exaggerated.
Normally there is no space between pleura and between pericardium and heart (Taken from Wikipedia, 1st May 2009)