Mesothelioma

HealthSavvy Sign In | Mesothelioma is a benign (noncancerous) or malignant (cancerous) tumor affecting the mesothelium, which is a membrane that covers most of the body's internal organs. Most cases of mesothelioma begin in the pleura (lining around the lungs) or peritoneum (the lining around the abdomen).Benign mesothelioma can also be called a fibroma, and cancerous mesothelioma is also known as malignant mesothelioma. A mesothelioma can further be named based on where it occurs. For example, malignant pleural mesothelioma is cancer that begins in the lining around the lungs.Most people who develop malignant mesothelioma have worked on jobs where they inhaled asbestos particles. A benign mesothelioma does not appear to have any relationship to asbestos exposure.The mesothelium is a membrane that covers and protects most of the internal organs of the body. It is composed of two layers of cells: one layer immediately surrounds the organ; the other forms a sac around it. The mesothelium produces a lubricating fluid that is released between these layers, allowing moving organs (such as the beating heart and the expanding and contracting lungs) to glide easily against adjacent structures.The mesothelium has different names, depending on its location in the body. The peritoneum is the mesothelial tissue that covers most of the organs in the abdominal cavity. The pleura is the membrane that surrounds the lungs and lines the wall of the chest cavity, while the pericardium covers and protects the heart. The mesothelial tissue surrounding the male internal reproductive organs is called the tunica vaginalis testis, and the tunica serosa uteri covers the internal reproductive organs in women. function createlink(url, title, index ) { var p=document.createElement("P"); p.setAttribute("onclick", "clickAnchor(event)" ); setClass( p, "chapterList" ); var a = document.createElement( "a"); a.style.color = "white"; var c = url.replace(/'/g, "'"); a.setAttribute("href", c ); a.innerHTML = title; p.appendChild( a ); return p; } function updateLinks() { var toc = document.getElementById("chapterTOC"); toc.innerHTML = ""; var p; p = createlink("#chapter_0","What Is Mesothelioma?", status.index ); toc.appendChild( p ); p = createlink("#chapter_1","Understanding the Mesothelium", status.index ); toc.appendChild( p ); p = createlink("/mesothelioma/mesothelioma-p2.html#chapter_2","Risk Factors for Mesothelioma", status.index ); toc.appendChild( p ); p = createlink("/mesothelioma/mesothelioma-p2.html#chapter_3","Mesothelioma and Asbestos", status.index ); toc.appendChild( p ); p = createlink("/mesothelioma/mesothelioma-p3.html#chapter_4","Symptoms and Diagnosis", status.index ); toc.appendChild( p ); p = createlink("/mesothelioma/mesothelioma-p3.html#chapter_5","How Is It Treated?", status.index ); toc.appendChild( p ); p = createlink("/mesothelioma/mesothelioma-p3.html#chapter_6","Statistics on Mesothelioma", status.index ); toc.appendChild( p ); } updateLinks(); function addToolbarButton(txt,divclass,hrefdest,onclickfunc,title,id) { var tb = document.getElementById("articleToolbar"); var td = document.createElement("TD"); if(id) td.setAttribute("id",id); var d = document.createElement("div"); setClass(d,divclass); d.onclick = function(e){ if (!onclickfunc||onclickfunc(e)!=false) {window.open(hrefdest,"_blank","");}}; d.setAttribute("title", title ); var href = document.createElement("A"); href.setAttribute("href", hrefdest ); href.onclick = onclickfunc; href.setAttribute("title", title ); href.innerHTML = txt; href.target = "_blank"; td.appendChild( d ); td.appendChild( href ); tb.appendChild(td); } function savvyClick(event) { createCookie("articleReferer",window.location + "|Mesothelioma",0,".emedtv.com"); urchinTracker("/savvyclick/http://mesothelioma.emedtv.com/mesothelioma/mesothelioma.html"); var sc=readCookie("SAVVYLOGIN"); if (sc) { savvyAddTopic("Mesothelioma"); } else { grayWindow(); $('#logintext').html('Sign in to your HealthSavvy account to add this topic:'); document.forms['signinform1'].action='/savvy/loginAddTopicAndReturn.html'; document.forms['signinform1'].topicName="Mesothelioma"; domenu(event,'logininfo',0,-100,true,true,true); $('#email1').focus(); } return false;} function savvyAddTopic(str) { $.ajax({ url: "/savvy/ajaxAddTopic.txt?topic=Mesothelioma", success: function(data){if (data.substring(0,2)=="OK") {data = data.substring(2, data.length);$("#hs_savvy_favorite").css("display","none");}showMessageBox(data); }}); } function createToolbar() {var st=readCookie("SAVVYTOPCIS");if (!st || st.indexOf("|Mesothelioma|")==-1) {addToolbarButton("HealthSavvy", "tb_hsicon tool_sp", "#", savvyClick, "HealthSavvy","hs_savvy_favorite");} addToolbarButton("Share", "tb_face tool_sp", "http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http%3a%2f%2fmesothelioma.emedtv.com%2fmesothelioma%2fmesothelioma.html&t=Mesothelioma", function() {urchinTracker("/facebookshare/http://mesothelioma.emedtv.com/mesothelioma/mesothelioma.html");}, "Share on Facebook",null); addToolbarButton( "Share", "tb_twit tool_sp", "http://www.emedtv.com/twittershare.html?status=Currently+reading+Mesothelioma+on+eMedTV%3a+http%3a%2f%2fmesothelioma.emedtv.com%2fmesothelioma%2fmesothelioma.html", function() {urchinTracker("/twittershare/http://mesothelioma.emedtv.com/mesothelioma/mesothelioma.html");}, "Share on Twitter",null); addToolbarButton( "Email","tb_mail tool_sp", "#", function(event) {emailPage(event);return false;}, "Email Article",null); if ( window.external && typeof(window.external.AddFavorite) != "undefined" ) { addToolbarButton( "Add", "tb_favorite tool_sp", "#", function(event) {bookmarkPage(event);return false;}, "Bookmark Article",null); } addToolbarButton( "Print","tb_print tool_sp", "#", function(event) {printPage(event);return false;}, "Print Article",null); } createToolbar(); Written by/reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD Last reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD var s = "Last" + " updated/reviewed: "; var lm = document.getElementById("lastmodified"); if ( lm ) { s += "October 22, 2008"; lm.innerHTML = s; }

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