Long, pliable, cohesive natural or manufactured filaments of various lengths. They form the structure of some minerals. The medical significance lies in their potential ability to cause various types of PNEUMOCONIOSIS (e.g., ASBESTOSIS) after occupational or environmental exposure. (From McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed, p708)

Annotation

IM general or unspecified only; coordinate NIM with specific mineral or material (IM), as asbestos fibers = MINERAL FIBERS (NIM) + ASBESTOS (IM); not for textile fibers ( = TEXTILES or specific textile such as COTTON FIBER; WOOL; or NYLON)

DUI

D019016 MeSH Browser

CUI

M0028395

Previous indexing

Minerals (1966-1995)

History note

96

Public note

96