Encyclopedia of Health and Medicine

180 The Pulmonary System
tuberculosis, and over the next 20 years tuberculosis
dramatically subsided in developed countries.
Tuberculosis resurfaced as a significant health
threat with the emergence of HIV/AIDS in the
1990s, however, with new strains of the bacillus
that were resistant to previously successful antibiotics.
New generations of antibiotics have become
available, though M. tuberculosis continues to
mutate into resistant forms. Today, this destructive
infection of the lungs persists.
With the advent of modern industrialization
came a surge of induced diseases, many of which
exposed the lungs to various particulates such as
coal dust (miner’s lung), silica (grinder’s rot), and
plant fibers (mill FEVER). These and other occupational
lung diseases have disabled and killed millions
of people through the centuries and
continue to threaten health even today despite
precautions to reduce the risks of exposure.
Miner’s lung (ANTHRACOSIS), also called black
lung, once disabled nearly every coal miner who
worked longer than a few years in the mines and
today remains a significant occupational disease
threat. SILICOSIS, long a risk for workers in occupations
with exposure to sand dust, appears in the
lungs of mummies from ancient Egypt, a consequence
of the intensely blowing sands of the
region, and in the lungs of contemporary workers
in quarries, potteries, and industries that use sandblasting.
Although new exposures to asbestos are
uncommon, the long time from exposure to the
development of disease means symptoms arise in
people today whose exposure through employment
(such as shipbuilding or insulation work)
took place decades ago. Though not as common as
before modern ventilation and dust control mechanisms
became commonplace, long-term inhalation
of cotton fibers by textile workers results in
BYSSINOSIS—mill fever.
Today lung disease related to industrial practices
remains a key component of public health. The use
of respirators, exhaust venting, and exposure limitations
helps reduce, but does not completely prevent,
occupational lung diseases. Some of these
conditions are treatable; others are progressive or
cause permanent damage. General air pollution
resulting from industrial and motor vehicle exhaust
accounts for much ASTHMA, chronic BRONCHITIS,
PNEUMONITIS, and other ailments of the lungs.
ENVIRONMENTAL CIGARETTE SMOKE (secondhand
smoke) has further emerged as a dangerous and
potentially lethal toxin of exposure. The air that
bears life-giving oxygen also transports, sometimes
unknowingly, the agents of lung damage.
OCCUPATIONAL LUNG CONDITIONS
ANTHRACOSIS
ASTHMA
BYSSINOSISchronic BRONCHITIS
INTERSTITIAL LUNG DISORDERS
PULMONARY FIBROSIS
ASBESTOSIS
BERYLLIOSIS
HYPERSENSITIVITY PNEUMONITIS
mesothelioma
SILICOSIS
Breakthrough Research and Treatment Advances
The unraveling of the human GENOME has produced
significant breakthroughs in understanding
and treating health conditions affecting all body
systems. Key discoveries related to pulmonary disorders
have in particular improved treatment for
CYSTIC FIBROSIS, once a disease that claimed the
lives of its victims before they reached ADOLES-
CENCE. Today it is more common than not for
those who have cystic fibrosis to enjoy reasonable
QUALITY OF LIFE into their early 30s, with new treatments
based on GENE THERAPY showing great promise
for arresting the progress of this debilitating
genetic disorder. LUNG TRANSPLANTATION is emerging
as a promising, viable treatment for end-stage pulmonary
disease resulting from disorders such as
cystic fibrosis, pulmonary hypertension, CHRONIC
OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE (COPD), and PUL-
MONARY FIBROSIS.