# What scientific term would a coroner use to refer to a death as a result of inhaling pumice? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 18, 2017, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-scientific-term-would-a-coroner-use-to-refer-to-a-death-as-a-result-of-inhaling-pumice/804748 "2017-12-18T01:53:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![davidmich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e56c9b/32.png) [@davidmich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidmich)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-scientific-term-would-a-coroner-use-to-refer-to-a-death-as-a-result-of-inhaling-pumice/804748/1 "2017-12-18T01:53:25Z")
What scientific term would a coroner use to refer to a death as a result of inhaling pumice (pumicite)? I’m thinking of using the word embolism but that’s probably wrong. I look forward to your feedback. ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-scientific-term-would-a-coroner-use-to-refer-to-a-death-as-a-result-of-inhaling-pumice/804748/2 "2017-12-18T02:11:29Z")
Acute or chronic inhalation? That is, did the subject fall over dead with their lungs filled up, or did they die over years of accrued damage to their lungs? I would suggest suffocation for the first, and probably silicosis (or a related condition) for the second. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-scientific-term-would-a-coroner-use-to-refer-to-a-death-as-a-result-of-inhaling-pumice/804748/3 "2017-12-18T02:23:42Z")
Chemical pneumonitis, I’d expect > **[Chemical pneumonitis](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_pneumonitis)** > > Chemical pneumonitis is inflammation of the lung caused by aspirating or inhaling irritants. It is sometimes called a "chemical pneumonia", though it is not infectious. There are two general types of chemical pneumonitis: acute and chronic. > Irritants capable of causing chemical pneumonitis include vomitus, barium used in gastro-intestinal imaging, chlorine gas (among other pulmonary agents), ingested gasoline or other petroleum distillates, ingested or skin absorbed pesticides, gases from electr... ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-scientific-term-would-a-coroner-use-to-refer-to-a-death-as-a-result-of-inhaling-pumice/804748/4 "2017-12-18T06:52:53Z")
Assuming chronic inhalation, generically, that’s [pneumoconiosis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pneumoconiosis). More specifically, it’s a kind of [silicosis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicosis). More specifically still, if the pumice was directly from an eruption, that’s [pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis). Really. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-scientific-term-would-a-coroner-use-to-refer-to-a-death-as-a-result-of-inhaling-pumice/804748/5 "2017-12-18T08:33:39Z")
Milage must vary from place to place, but coronors aren’t generally that pushed about identifying precise medical causes for deaths. The coronor’s verdict might be, e.g., suicide or accidental death or misadventure or neglect or whatever, and of course it will be informed by the medical evidence, but the identification of specific contributory medical causes is a matter for the doctors. The coronor may of course be a doctor himself or herself, but even if so I don’t think that distinguishing the _precise_ form of pneumoconiosis that killed someone is part of the coronial office. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-scientific-term-would-a-coroner-use-to-refer-to-a-death-as-a-result-of-inhaling-pumice/804748/6 "2017-12-18T10:59:56Z")
The same applies here - The usual verdicts are: Commonly: Natural Causes Accidental Death Misadventure Suicide Rarely: Neglect Unlawful Killing Open verdict Narrative verdict They would not generally attempt to provide medical terms for the cause of death because that is not their function. They want to establish the circumstances, so _“death as a result of inhaling pumice”_ might be one of several - in fact any of the above except the first. I think that the OP might be more interested in what the doctor attending might put on the death certificate. ---
**Author:** ![davidmich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e56c9b/32.png) [@davidmich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidmich)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-scientific-term-would-a-coroner-use-to-refer-to-a-death-as-a-result-of-inhaling-pumice/804748/7 "2017-12-18T15:53:58Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > The same applies here - The usual verdicts are: > > Commonly: > Natural Causes > Accidental Death > Misadventure > Suicide > > Rarely: > Neglect > Unlawful Killing > Open verdict > Narrative verdict > > They would not generally attempt to provide medical terms for the cause of death because that is not their function. They want to establish the circumstances, so _“death as a result of inhaling pumice”_ might be one of several - in fact any of the above except the first. > > I think that the OP might be more interested in what the doctor attending might put on the death certificate. Thanks bob++. I would be interested in knowing what an attending doctor might put on death certificate. Would a doctor actually use the term pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-scientific-term-would-a-coroner-use-to-refer-to-a-death-as-a-result-of-inhaling-pumice/804748/8 "2017-12-18T16:14:40Z")
> [@davidmich](#): > > Thanks bob++. I would be interested in knowing what an attending doctor might put on death certificate. Would a doctor actually use the term > pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis? No. If inhaling pumice chronically caused the lungs to have emphysematous changes, the cause of death might be respiratory failure from end-stage COPD. If it caused an acute inflammatory response in the lungs, the cause might be listed as respiratory failure from bilateral pneumonia, or perhaps pneumonitis, depending on how it looked at autopsy. If the pumice inhalation caused acute hypoxia which then led to an acute myocardial infarction with fatal arrhythmia, the death would probably be called acute MI. QtM, who’s filled out a few death certificates. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-scientific-term-would-a-coroner-use-to-refer-to-a-death-as-a-result-of-inhaling-pumice/804748/9 "2017-12-18T16:35:18Z")
Of course, if you go back 100 years, you might get “Potter’s Asthma” or “Galloping Consumption”. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-scientific-term-would-a-coroner-use-to-refer-to-a-death-as-a-result-of-inhaling-pumice/804748/10 "2017-12-18T21:04:14Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Assuming chronic inhalation, generically, that’s [pneumoconiosis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pneumoconiosis). > … > More specifically still, if the pumice was directly from an eruption, that’s [pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis). Really. From your cite: [mumble mumble] is a word invented by the president of the National Puzzlers’ League as a synonym for the disease known as silicosis. It is the longest word in the English language published in a dictionary, the Oxford English Dictionary, which defines it as “an artificial long word said to mean a lung disease caused by inhaling very fine ash and sand dust.”[3] Great! This is why I peek at every thread… What’s with the cavil “published in a dictionary”? As opposed to allowable words such as chemical names, which can be spelled out in english _ad …_? Reserve query for new thread coming up in 1, 2,… ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-scientific-term-would-a-coroner-use-to-refer-to-a-death-as-a-result-of-inhaling-pumice/804748/11 "2017-12-18T21:34:39Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > … > QtM, who’s filled out a few death certificates. QfT. Couldn’t help myself, Q. ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2017, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-scientific-term-would-a-coroner-use-to-refer-to-a-death-as-a-result-of-inhaling-pumice/804748/12 "2017-12-19T00:41:31Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > What’s with the cavil “published in a dictionary”? I think the point is that it’s the longest word published in a recognised dictionary, rather than the longest word known to have been used in speech or writing as a semantic signifier. The word was intentionally coined as an example of a very long word, and all of the cites in the OED are variants on “look at this very long word!”. We have no evidence that anyone has ever actually used it as an identifier for a lung disease in a sentence in which their primary purpose was to identify a lung disease. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2017, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-scientific-term-would-a-coroner-use-to-refer-to-a-death-as-a-result-of-inhaling-pumice/804748/13 "2017-12-19T02:48:41Z")
I don’t know what the term if, but it sounds rough. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2017, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-scientific-term-would-a-coroner-use-to-refer-to-a-death-as-a-result-of-inhaling-pumice/804748/14 "2017-12-19T14:47:48Z")
Yeah, just in case anyone was in doubt, that last bit was a joke. In all seriousness, though, silicosis is a pukka medical term - I used to get an annual X-ray for it when I worked on the mines, that’s what the doctors called it. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2017, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-scientific-term-would-a-coroner-use-to-refer-to-a-death-as-a-result-of-inhaling-pumice/804748/15 "2017-12-21T11:35:07Z")
Is there a code for billing purposes? ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2017, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-scientific-term-would-a-coroner-use-to-refer-to-a-death-as-a-result-of-inhaling-pumice/804748/16 "2017-12-21T13:29:36Z")
> [@Pushkin](#): > > Is there a code for billing purposes? Of course! > **[Online ICD9/ICD9CM codes](http://icd9cm.chrisendres.com/index.php?action=child&recordid=5023)** > > Free searchable online version of the 2009 ICD-9-CM ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2017, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-scientific-term-would-a-coroner-use-to-refer-to-a-death-as-a-result-of-inhaling-pumice/804748/17 "2017-12-22T05:15:05Z")
ICD9 is obsolete. ICD10 would probably code this as some variant on J62. If the exposure to pumice dust was rapid and sufficient to asphyxiate the poor guy, that could be T71.9, “Asphyxiation due to unspecified cause.” Could be worse, T71.232, “Asphyxiation due to being trapped in a (discarded) refrigerator, intentional self-harm” seems like a weird way to go. ---
**Author:** ![BobBitchin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ea924/32.png) [@BobBitchin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobBitchin)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2017, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-scientific-term-would-a-coroner-use-to-refer-to-a-death-as-a-result-of-inhaling-pumice/804748/18 "2017-12-22T07:01:55Z")
What the word aspirated be used? ---
**Author:** ![BobBitchin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7ea924/32.png) [@BobBitchin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobBitchin)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2017, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-scientific-term-would-a-coroner-use-to-refer-to-a-death-as-a-result-of-inhaling-pumice/804748/19 "2017-12-22T09:54:45Z")
Would not what.:smack: ---
**Author:** ![USCDiver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uscdiver/32/354_2.png) [@USCDiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/USCDiver)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2017, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-scientific-term-would-a-coroner-use-to-refer-to-a-death-as-a-result-of-inhaling-pumice/804748/20 "2017-12-22T13:17:24Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > ICD9 is obsolete. :smack: I googled ICD-10 and didn’t even notice I got an ICD-9 website!