Intermittent exposure of gravid rats to 1% nitrous oxide and the effect on the postnatal growth of their offspring.
Three groups of pregnant rats were exposed to 1% nitrous oxide 6 hours a day, 5 days per week for the first, first and second, and all 3 weeks of gestation. The offspring were weighed and measured at weekly intervals. The following variables were evaluated in control and experimental groups: litter size, body weight, tail length and body length. Litter sizes in animals exposed for the first and second weeks of gestation were significantly smaller than the controls. A two-way nested statistical analysis of the data revealed that over an 8-week period the experimental rats were significantly smaller than the control rats of the same age. Analysis of the 95% confidence intervals revealed no particular pattern related to the timing of the exposure to nitrous oxide.
D000818:Animals; D001699:Biometry; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D006128:Growth / Q000187:drug effects*; D008098:Litter Size / Q000187:drug effects*; D009609:Nitrous Oxide / Q000633:toxicity*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011270:Pregnancy, Animal / Q000187:drug effects*; D051381:Rats; D013623:Tail / Q000033:anatomy & histology
D009609:Nitrous Oxide