ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the changes with particular reference to epithelial cells lining the respiratory tract which, together with their extracellular secretions, represent the primary target for inhaled material. It examines the importance of physicochemical properties of particles to induce transient or progressive respiratory tract changes linked to alterations in the surface epithelium. Studies on workers occupationally exposed to dusts and a variety of chemicals by inhalation have shown that the mechanisms of cellular damage, in so far as they are known, follow a similar pattern. The chapter discusses the fate and route of dispersion of diesel exhaust particles once deposited in small amounts by instillation at the respiratory epithelium. It describes some preliminary light and electron microscopical work which helps identify the cells that can endocytose the material and its location in the interstitium of the alveolar septum, having bypassed the epithelium.
