Commentary: penetration of asbestos through the digestive wall in rats

Distribution studies on asbestos fibers administered to rats were performed with the electron microscope and were supplemented with studies involving use of tritiated and neutron-activated asbestos. Chrysotile filbers were injected into the stomach of rats, and 2–4 days later various tissues were solubilized and their fiber content studied. Fibers were isolated from the blood, spleen, omentum, and brain of the treated rats. Highest levels of orally administered fibers decreased within 24 hr in the blood, lung, and spleen; the count remained high in tissues such as the omentum and brain.