Abstract
The patient, a 46 year-old man, had worked at an asbestos factory for 12 years between age 20 and 32. A diagnosis of pulmonary asbestosis was established at 30 years of age. He developed left pleuritis at age 42 and right pleuritis at age 43 and succumbed due to empyema thoracis tuberuculosa of the left lung at 45 years of age. The direct cause of death was respiratory failure. Remarkable bilateral pleural thickening, pulmonary fibrosis and empyema thoracis tuberculosa of the left lung were demonstrated by autopsy. This was a specific case in which pleural plaque and bilateral pleural effusion were derived from pulmonary asbestosis with subsequent complication of empyema thoracis tuberculosa, resulting in varied degeneration of the pleura.
