摘要：The establishment of infectious diseases is rarely entirely attributed to a single entity, but instead is the result of a primary stress and one or more secondary factors that interfere with homeostasis and the ability of the host to cope with the primary etiologic assault. Any environmental chemical that can suppress the normal functioning of the host's body defenses would be expected to increase the risk of the host to such diseases. Within the lung, the alveolar macrophages are the crucial elements responsible for defending the body against such airborne viable agents. The effects of inhaled gases and particulates on these defense cells are a major concern of the environmental health scientist since such chemicals have the capability of adversely affecting the integrity and functioning of these pulmonary defense cells. The objective of this report is to provide an overview that will improve our understanding of how a variety of environmental chemicals can alter the biochemical, physiological and immunological functioning of these cells. Full text Full text is available as a scanned copy of the original print version. Get a printable copy (PDF file) of the complete article (3.7M), or click on a page image below to browse page by page. Links to PubMed are also available for Selected References . 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358
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