Asbestosis is a disease that results in fibrosis of the lung from the inhalation of asbestiform particles, such as fibrous serpentine (chrysotile) and fibrous amphibole (crocidolite, amosite, anthophyllite, tremolite, actinolite), which can lead to mesothelioma (cancer). The amphiboles have a much greater residence time in the lung than the serpentines, which dissolve more readily at the pH of lung tissue (Hume and Rimstidt, 1992; Werner et al., 1995).
See asbestos, asbestiform.
Cf., asbestiform, asbestos, aspect ratio