TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - Asbestos-Related Lung Disease A1 - Rom, William N. A2 - Grippi, Michael A. A2 - Elias, Jack A. A2 - Fishman, Jay A. A2 - Kotloff, Robert M. A2 - Pack, Allan I. A2 - Senior, Robert M. A2 - Siegel, Mark D. PY - 2015 T2 - Fishman's Pulmonary Diseases and Disorders, 5e AB - Asbestos is a fibrous hydrated magnesium silicate with commercial use due to its indestructible nature, fire resistance, and easy transformability into industrial products from yarn to insulation block to brakes. Asbestos fibers are generally defined as long, thin fibers with a length to width ratio (aspect ratio) of 3:1. There are six commercial forms of asbestos: chrysotile, crocidolite, amosite, anthophyllite, actinolite, and tremolite. Most of the asbestos used in the United States has been chrysotile, a serpentine form of asbestos. Other asbestos types are the amphiboles—notably amosite, mined in South Africa, and crocidolite, mined in the Cape Province of South Africa and in Western Australia. These asbestos fiber types have strikingly different physical characteristics: chrysotile tends to be wavy and long, and occurs in bundles; crocidolite is needle-shaped with many long fibers; and amosite is similar to crocidolite but generally thicker. Asbestos fibers accumulate in the interstitium of the lung and are coated by iron and hemosiderin in a beaded, clubbed fashion referred to as ferruginous or asbestos bodies. SN - PB - McGraw-Hill Education CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/03/29 UR - accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1122364429 ER -