'Plasticosis': Characterising macro- and microplastic-associated fibrosis in seabird tissues.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Animal/wildlife tissue study with no human clinical data (Level 5 by Oxford CEBM criteria).
PubMed 36867907 · doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.131090
What was done
Researchers examined proventriculus (stomach) tissue samples from 30 wild Flesh-footed Shearwater (*Ardenna carneipes*) fledglings collected from Lord Howe Island, Australia. Masson's Trichrome staining was used to detect collagen deposition as a marker of scar tissue formation and evaluate fibrosis associated with ingested macro- and microplastics compared to naturally occurring indigestible items such as pumice.
What was found
Ingested plastic was associated with widespread scar tissue formation and structural changes or loss of architecture in the gastric mucosa and submucosa. In contrast, naturally occurring indigestible items (pumice) did not cause similar scarring. The abstract reports no numerical values, effect sizes, or statistical metrics.
Why it matters
This study provides field evidence of non-lethal pathological damage from plastic ingestion in wild birds, proposing a specific fibrotic condition termed 'Plasticosis'.
Limits
The study is an observational cross-sectional assessment limited to 30 fledglings from a single avian species at one geographic location. The abstract provides no quantitative data on plastic dose, particle size thresholds, or physiological functional impairment, and non-experimental wildlife designs cannot rule out confounding environmental exposures.
Cited by
- partial Histological examinations of shearwater birds that ingested plastic revealed widespread organ fibrosis in the liver, kidneys, and stomach, a pathology termed 'plasticosis'.