Generalized fibrosis associated with pulmonary asbestosis.

An autopsy case of pulmonary asbestosis with fibrosis of various organs was reported. Pulmonary carcinoma and glomerulonephritis were complicated. Asbestos bodies (ABs) and fibers (AFs) were identified in the organs with fibrosis such as the lung, liver, kidney, heart, and thyroid gland by electron microscopy and digestion method. Moreover, we identified AFs in the spleen by electron microscopy which had been resected due to idiopathic portal hypertension six years previously. It is suggested that AFs can be transported to various organs and persist for a long period of time to cause pathological changes there.