EFFECT OF SILICA DUST ON THE MICROSCOPIC STRUCTURE OF THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM AND SOME OTHER ORGANS OF MALE ALBINO RATS

Abstract

The present research was done to study the effect of silica dust on the microscopic structure of the respiratory system, the liver and kidney of male albino rats using some histological stains. Also semithin sections stained with toluidine blue were used to support the results. It was found that exposure to silica dust by inhalation or contamination of food has toxic effect on the respiratory system and both liver and kidneys. In the case of lung, silica treatment lead to obvious changes 10 the fonn of cellular infiltration, proliferation of the epithelial lining and hyperplasia of the alveolar cells, destruction ofthe alveolar wall, presence of exudate in some alveoli in addition to the increased amounts of connective tissue fibers. This suggests that there IS correlation between silica exposure and fibrotic lung diseases.