Histopathological screening for silicosis in autopsy cases of the Umtata area of the Eastern Cape Province.

The aim of this study was to determine the distribution of lung diseases in the autopsy subjects brought for medicolegal examination in the Transkei area. Two hundred histopathological slides were examined microscopically. Of them, 46 subjects (23%) showed some kind of pathology. There were four kinds of lesions observed: dust reticulation (anthracosis), necrotizing granulomatous inflammation, tuberculosis and silicosis. Dust reticulation was observed in the lungs of 16 cases (8%), 14 of them (7%) were females and 2 males (1%), the deposition of carbon with some refractive silica particles seen in the lung fields predominated. These were the rural women aged 45-75 years. Narcotizing granulomatous inflammation of lungs that was probably tuberculosis and clear tuberculosis were found in 14 (7%) and 8 (4%) cases respectively.