Experimental lead toxicosis in swine.
Thirty pigs, weighing 17 to 24 kg, were exposed to lead or sodium acetate orally or intraperitoneally (IP) 6 days each week for 13 weeks. These pigs were extremely tolerant of lead. Only mild clinical signs of lead toxicosis were observed in orally lead-exposed pigs despite blood lead concentrations of up to 290 micrograms/dl. Four IP lead-exposed pigs died, but eight other IP lead-exposed pigs survived the exposure period despite blood lead concentrations up to 14,300 micrograms/dl. Lead exposure caused marked decreases in blood delta-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase activities of all pigs and moderate decreases of blood hemoglobin concentrations, hematocrit percentages, mean corpuscular volumes, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentrations, and mean corpuscular hemoglobins in IP lead-exposed, but not in orally lead-exposed pigs. Basophilic stippling was observed in erythrocytes of lead-exposed pigs, but not in those of control pigs.
D000284:Administration, Oral; D000818:Animals; D006400:Hematocrit; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000032:analysis; D007274:Injections, Intraperitoneal; D007854:Lead / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000097:blood; D007855:Lead Poisoning / Q000097:blood / Q000662:veterinary*; D000623:Porphobilinogen Synthase / Q000097:blood; D013552:Swine; D013553:Swine Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000139:chemically induced*
D006454:Hemoglobins; D007854:Lead; D000623:Porphobilinogen Synthase