Inhalational anthrax toxicity

Industrial processes, such as mUling and mining, construction work, and the burning of wood or fossil fuel, generate particulates that can be directly toxic or can serve as vectors for the transfer of bound material, such as sulfuric acid, metals, and hydrocarbons, into the lungs. Natural products such as pollen, anthrax spores, and animal dander can elicit toxic reactions on inhalation or skin contact. The inhalation of asbestos, silica, or coal dust can cause pneumoconiosis, which may develop into serious lung disease. The size of the particle, ventilatory rate, and depth of breathing will determine the extent of pulmonary deposition. 

In cutaneous and gastrointestinal anthrax, spore germination takes place at or near the inoculation site following uptake by the macrophage or dendritic cell. It is the vegetative form, not the spore, which produces the deadly factors. After transformation to the vegetative bacilli, these bacteria are free to mediate toxicity at the inoculation site in skin and gastrointestinal tract (Beatty et al., 2003). In inhalational... 

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