anthracosis (redirected from Coalworker's pneumoconiosis)

anthracosis /an·thra·co·sis/ (an″thrah-ko´sis) pneumoconiosis, usually asymptomatic, due to deposition of anthracite coal dust in the lungs.

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an·thra·co·sis (nthr-kss)

n.

Accumulation of carbon in the lungs from inhaled smoke or coal dust. Also called miner's lung.

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anthracosis

[an′thrəkō′sis/]

Etymology: Gk, anthrax, coal, osis, condition

a chronic lung disease characterized by the deposit of coal dust in the lungs and by the formation of black nodules on the bronchioles, resulting in focal emphysema. The condition occurs in coal miners and is aggravated by cigarette smoking. There is no specific treatment; most cases are asymptomatic, and preventing further exposure to coal dust may halt progress of the condition. Also called black lung disease, coal worker's pneumoconiosis, miner's pneumoconiosis. See also inorganic dust.

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anthracosis

heavy black deposits of carbon; a common necropsy finding in dogs which have passed a busy working life in a heavily industrialized city.

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anthracosis

Pulmonology A generic term for blackening of tissues, often understood to mean carbon dust deposition in the lung and lymph nodes, which does not itself cause disease, and is usually present in urban dwellers, and in those working in certain occupations–eg, coal mining. See coal workers' pneumoconiosis.