Cell and Material Interface

250 Cell and Material Interface

of food) or by accident (e.g., inhalation of asbestos and coal particles by construc-

tion workers or miners). Foreign bodies can enter the organism through a variety of

ways. The most common way is through the natural orices of the human body: the

mouth, nostrils, ear canals, eyes, urethra, anus, and vagina. Foreign body ingestion

frequently occurs in children between 6months and 6years of age; they account

for up to 80% of the cases [18]. The prevalent ingested objects are coins; they are

found in 66% of cases. In adults or children above 11years old, 60% of the foreign

bodies retained in the gastrointestinal tract are food boluses. Although in the United

States alone more than 1500 patients annually die ...