Silicosis, also known as Potter's rot, is a form of occupational lung disease

Occupational lung disease

Main Article Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease Occupational lung diseases are a branch of occupational diseases concerned primarily with work related exposures to harmful substances, be they dusts or gases, and the subsequent pulmonary disorders that may occur as a result...

 caused by inhalation of crystalline silica dust, and is marked by inflammation

Inflammation

Inflammation is part of the complex biological response of vascular tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants. Inflammation is a protective attempt by the organism to remove the injurious stimuli and to initiate the healing process...

 and scarring in forms of nodular lesions

Nodule (medicine)

For use of the term nodule in dermatology, see Nodule In medicine, a nodule refers to a relatively hard, roughly spherical abnormal structure....

 in the upper lobes of the lungs. It is a type of pneumoconiosis

Pneumoconiosis

Pneumoconiosis is an occupational lung disease and a restrictive lung disease caused by the inhalation of dust, often in mines.-Types:Depending upon the type of dust, the disease is given different names:...

.

Silicosis (particularly the acute form) is characterized by shortness of breath, cough, fever, and cyanosis

Cyanosis

Cyanosis is the appearance of a blue or purple coloration of the skin or mucous membranes due to the tissues near the skin surface being low on oxygen. The onset of cyanosis is 2.5 g/dL of deoxyhemoglobin. The bluish color is more readily apparent in those with high hemoglobin counts than it is...

 (bluish skin). It may often be misdiagnosed as pulmonary edema

Pulmonary edema

Pulmonary edema , or oedema , is fluid accumulation in the air spaces and parenchyma of the lungs. It leads to impaired gas exchange and may cause respiratory failure...

 (fluid in the lungs), pneumonia

Pneumonia

Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...

, or tuberculosis

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...

.

The name silicosis (from the Latin silex, or flint) was originally used in 1870 by Achille Visconti (1836-1911), prosector

Prosector

A prosector is a person with the special task of preparing a dissection for demonstration, usually in medical schools or hospitals. Many important anatomists began their careers as prosectors working for lecturers and demonstrators in anatomy and pathology....

 in the Ospedale Maggiore

Ospedale Maggiore

The Ospedale Maggiore, traditionally named Ca' Granda , is a building in the center of Milan, northern Italy, constructed to house one of the first community hospitals, the largest such undertaking of the fifteenth century...

 of Milan.