ABSTRACT
Etiology and pathogenesis466 Imaging 466 Clinical aspects 467
Diffuse pleural thickening467 Etiology and pathogenesis 467 Imaging 468 Pulmonary function 468 Clinical aspects468
Benign asbestos pleural effusion 468 Imaging 468 Clinical aspects 468
Rounded atelectasis469 Etiology and pathology 469 Clinical aspects 469
Future directions 469 References 469
“Asbestos” is a term used for a number of brous silicates with particular properties, which occur in deposits large enough to be of commercial interest. us, the origin of the term is geologic as well as commercial. ere are other brous minerals, which have some similar biological eects, particularly tremolite (a noncommercial amphibole), erionite (a brous silicate found in volcanic rock and implicated in mesothelioma and pulmonary brosis in Turkey), Libby amphibole (an amphibole which is similar to crocidolite and contaminates vermiculite deposits in Montana, USA),1 and wollastonite (a silicate used in ceramics).2 Most (>90%) of the world’s production of asbestos has been of chrysotile, which is of the serpentine group of minerals. e
remainder of production has been of crocidolite, amosite, and anthophyllite, which are amphiboles minerals.3
