Microscopic and ultrastructural appearances of the dust pigment in the lungs of opium smokers

Abstract

This is the first report on the ultrastructural appearances of the pigment dust in the lungs of opium smokers. The material was derived from 10 autopsies on opium smokers with chronic obstructive lung disease. The pigment was seen mainly in the macrophages. Within the cytoplasm, the pigment was found largely in phagolysosomes, but also wihin a few mitochondria. While there were no significant differences from the pigment in cigarette smokers' lungs, the pigment was distinctly different from that seen in the lungs of coal miners.