Teratological effects of zinc chloride on foetal development in albino rats

ABSTRACT

Pregnant female rats were subcutaneously injected daily with Zn Cl2 at the dose level of 0.25mg/kg b.wt from the first to the 20th day of gestation. The main characteristic effects of Zn Cl2 on the foetuses were loss of the average body weight, increased rate of growth retardation and diffusion of haematoma all over the body. Liver sections of maternally treated foetuses showed variable grades of degeneration. The nuclei of the hepatocytes have lost their vesicular appearance and the cytoplasm was vacuolated and rarefied. Moreover, necrotic areas, infiltrated by inflammatory cells were observed. The examined brain sections revealed different phases of histological alteration. The cerebral tissue had missed its normal architecture. Inflammatory cells, intermixed with fibrosis, had dominated most of the cerebral tissue. Also, slight degeneration was observed which had apparently progressed to distinct necrosis