RESUMO
The present work was performed to study the histology of liver of the rats and the effect of medroxyprogesterone acetate [MPA] on them. The work was carried out on 4 adult rats. They were divided into 2 groups: Group I [8 rats] was used as a control and group II [16 rats] was injected intramuscularly with a single dose of MPA. The livers of the injected group were examined 3 weeks after the injection and 3 months after the injection. The histopathological changes of liver of the treated rats showed that the toxic effect of MPA was time dependent. Ultrastructural and light microscopical examination of livers of treated rats 3 weeks after injection showed loss of their normal architecture, dilatation of the vascular channels, ill defined cell membranes and vacuolation of the cytoplasm with complete loss of the cytoplasmic matrix and organelles indicating edematous changes and denoting hydropic degeneration