The effects of chronic exposure to asbestos fibers in the Amazon molly Poecilia formosa

Amazon mollies were exposed for 6 months to several concentrations of coarse and fine asbestos particles suspended in their aquarium water. At the end of this period, the fish were serially sectioned and the tissues examined for lesions. Pathological changes were found in the kidneys, the major site of accumulation of the mineral fibers after their entry into the body through the intestinal mucosa. There was no evidence of entry of particles through the gill epithelium. Epithelial hypertrophy and secondary lamellar telangiectasia of the gills appeared to be the result of physical abrasion by the asbestos particles. There was no cellular injury in the liver or the muscles.