anthracosis /an′thrəkō″sis// [Gk, anthrax, coal, osis, condition] , a chronic lung disease characterized by the deposit of coal dust in the lungs and by the formation of black nodules on the bronchioles, resulting in focal emphysema. The condition occurs in coal miners and is aggravated by cigarette smoking. There is no specific treatment; most cases are asymptomatic, and preventing further exposure to coal dust may halt progress of the condition. Also called black lung disease, coal worker’s pneumoconiosis, miner’s pneumoconiosis. See also inorganic dust.
