Science Is Art: Black lung disease under the microscope
Microscopic views of a coal miner‘s lung. The above image shows dark coal macules (collections of coal dust in the lung cells). The image below shows dust in the lungs comprised of coal (black) and silicate (bright) particles.
Upstate pathology professor Jerrold Abraham, MD, left, and assistant professor Soma Sanyal, MD, are examining lung tissue from coal miners with black lung disease as a part of a large study into the reasons for a recent increase in the disease, which is also known as coal worker‘s pneumoconiosis.The increase may have to do with changes in coal mining technology, as well as the enforcement of safety regulations, says Abraham.
Slice of a coal miner‘s lung. Black area shows progressive massive fibrosis.
