ABSTRACT
Asbestos has attracted attention for centuries, first because of its valuable physical properties, but sadly for the last 50-80 years, mostly because of its multiple and varied pulmonary health effects, ranging from simple pleural plaques, to extensive pleural and parenchymal fibrosis, to malignancy. The benign pleural manifestations, including circumscribed pleural plaques, benign pleural effusions, diffuse pleural thickening, and rounded atelectasis, are the focus of this chapter. Mesothelioma is discussed elsewhere in this volume.
