Chest
Volume 64, Issue 2, August 1973, Pages 193-196
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A Current Hypothesis of the Lymphatic Transport of Inspired Dust to the Parietal Pleura

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Clinical Findings

A 77-year-old man had been employed for 41 years in iron foundries as a molder. The working conditions had always been those of an old iron foundry, dusty and sooty. After exposure for 34 years, the patient began to feel dyspneic, and two years later a diagnosis of stage 1 pneumoconiosis was made. Calcification was detected roentgenologically in the hilar regions on both sides. There was slight nodulation in the middle part of the lungs, with emphysema in the upper part. The left ventricle was

DISCUSSION

The pulmonary roentgenologic findings of this type of dust pneumoconiosis correspond to the changes of silicosis. Pleural plaques are not often seen on x-ray films in connection with silicosis, and were not seen in this case. In the present case, attention was paid to the extensive extrapulmonary distribution of coal and silica particles in the region of the retroperitoneum and, especially, the thorax.

The affection of the cervical and mediastinal lymph nodes seems to be the natural result of

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