Occupational and Environmental Lung Diseases

While the respiratory system is well-equipped to defend against exposure to a vast array of toxic substances, the intricate cellular and molecular mechanisms designed to repair injured lung tissues often fail, resulting in a number of chronic lung diseases, including cancer, fibrosis, asthma, hypersensitivity pnuemonitis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which is a combination of bronchitis and emphysema. 

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Occupational and environmental lung disease comprises a wide spectrum of lung disorders caused by the inhalation or ingestion of organic and inorganic particles and chemicals. CT is very sensitive in depicting the parenchymal, as well as airway and pleural abnormaU-ties that are associated with these diseases. 

Occupational and Environmental Lung Disease The Role of Imaging... 

Meanwhile, less invasive sampling methods than open lung biopsies were introduced, such as bron-choalveolar lavage, transbronchial or thoracoscopic biopsies, facilitating the exploration of occupational and environmental lung diseases caused by mineral particles or fibers. 

There is still important clinical and basic research work in occupational and environmental diseases. The research areas concern the description of new diseases due to organic and inorganic materials, nanotoxicology, mineralogical studies on the lung, genetical and immunological susceptibility to pneumoconiosis...There are indeed differences in the individual susceptibility to the adverse... 

Cigarette smoking is the primary modifiable risk factor for the development of COPD however, the disease can be attributed to a combination of risk factors that results in lung injury and tissue destruction. The risk factors associated with the development of COPD can be divided into host factors and environmental factors (Table 27-1), and commonly, the interaction between these risks leads to expression of the disease. Host factors, such as genetic predisposition, may not be modifiable but are important for identifying patients at high risk of developing the disease. Environmental factors, such as tobacco smoke and occupational dust and chemicals, are modifiable factors that, if avoided, may reduce the risk of disease development. 

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