Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the morphological changes in the peripheral motor system of the rat induced by exposure to lead.
METHODS: This study was conducted at the Anatomy Department, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from January 2011 to January 2012. Female adult albino rats (n=10) were given lead acetate in their drinking water (500mg/L) for a period of 30 days. Female adult albino rats (n=5) were used as control. The soleus and gastrocnemius muscles were dissected and processed for electron microscopy.
RESULTS: Lead administration induced morphological changes in all constituents of the peripheral motor system of the rat, including; extension of long processes by Schwann cells, engorgement of nerve terminals, withdrawal of some terminals, and muscle fiber alterations.
CONCLUSION: Lead toxicity is detrimental to all constituents of the peripheral motor system of the rat. The histopathological changes explain some of the clinical manifestations of lead toxicity.
- Copyright: © Neurosciences
Neurosciences is an Open Access journal and articles published are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (CC BY-NC). Readers may copy, distribute, and display the work for non-commercial purposes with the proper citation of the original work.
In this issue
Jump to section
Related Articles
Cited By...
- No citing articles found.