Exposure to Asbestos and Mesothelioma of the Pleura

Two cases of mesothelioma were the subjects of fairly recent coroners' inquests. In neither instance was it accepted that the tumour was attributable to inhalation of asbestos fibre; yet in one case there was a known and severe occupational history of exposure to asbestos, while in both cases " asbestos bodies " were found in the lung. A point made at both inquests was the difficulty of attributing a tumour to asbestos-inhalation in the absence of the diffuse pulmonary fibrosis so long recognized (Murray, 1907) as characteristic of " asbestosis."