Ferruginous Bodies in Human Lungs

Ferruginous bodies with a transparent central core or no visible central filament were present in 97 of 100 autopsies; they were found in 55 of 56 men (98%) and in 42 of 44 women (95.5%). The youngest subject with ferruginous bodies was a 24-year-old woman. The bodies were generally more abundant in the lungs of the men. Thirty-two patients in this series had some form of malignant disease, but there was no apparent association between the malignancies and the relative abundance of ferruginous bodies. There were two cases of primary lung cancer in men, but no case of mesothelioma, nor of asbestosis. The significance of these findings from an epidemiologic point of view must await identification of the central core of the ferruginous bodies, but in any event, pulmonary fibrosis or neoplasm is rarely associated with their presence in the lungs of these autopsied city dwellers not occupationally exposed to asbestos dust.