TABLE 4.4Mechanisms of Fiber Clearance from the Lungs

Physiological clearance processes of deposited fibers
  • Mucociliary movement
  • Scavenging by alveolar macrophages
  • Interstitial translocation
  • Lymphatic clearance
Physicochemical processes reducing fiber burden
  • Leaching
  • Dissolution
  • Breakage

SOURCE: Modified from Bernstein et al. (2005).

From: 4, Exposure and Disposition

Cover of Asbestos
Asbestos: Selected Cancers.
Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Asbestos: Selected Health Effects.
Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2006.
Copyright © 2006, National Academy of Sciences.

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