Histopathological studies on the effect of the anticoagulant rodenticide brodifacoum on the testis of rat

ABSTRACT

In the present work, histopathological changes in the testis of rat were studied following oral administration of doses equal to 1/20 and 1/10 LD50 of the anticoagulant rodenticide brodifacoum for one, 2, 3 and 4 weeks. The pathological alterations of the testes of brodifacoum treated rats included disorganization of the seminiferous tubules, maturation arrest, germ cell hypoplasia, necrosis and the appearance of multinucleated giant cells. In the interstitial tissue, the most marked changes were the hemorrhage and congestion of some blood vessels. In cases of rats treated with either the low or the high dose for 4 weeks, besides the previously listed alterations, most of the seminiferous tubules appeared devoid of spermatozoa