title: Toxic effects of cadmium microparticles on the respiratory system. An experimental study on rats and mice.
abstract: An experimental study on rats and mice. Scand. j. work environ. & health 3 (1977) 116--121. Experiments on male, specific pathogen-free rats (193) and mice (66) are reported. The test and control animals received a single 15-min exposure to cadmium (cadmium oxide) and aluminum (alumina) microparticles, respectively. The air cadmium content was 10 mg/m3, and 4 microgram of this metal was retained by the lungs of the rats. The animals were observed for 24 days. The following significant differences appeared between the control and test groups: in the cadmium exposed rats the relative lung weight (percentage of body weight) became temporarily higher; the absolute number of alveolar macrophages decreased at first and then increased; numerous polymorphonuclear and lymphocytic cells appeared in the alveoli. According to these inflammatory phenomena, at the 48th h after exposure, there was an alteration in the clearance kinetics of inhaled bacteria and an increase in the death rate of cadmium exposed animals following a test infection with Salmonella enteritidis (rats) or Pasteurella multocida (mice) aerosols. The mechanism of cadmium toxic action on the respiratory system is discussed.
mesh_terms: D000537:Aluminum Oxide / Q000008:administration & dosage; D000818:Animals; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000209:etiology; D002104:Cadmium / Q000633:toxicity*; D002452:Cell Count; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D008168:Lung / Q000187:drug effects; D008264:Macrophages; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D009929:Organ Size / Q000187:drug effects; D010316:Particle Size; D051381:Rats; D012137:Respiratory System / Q000187:drug effects*; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000209:etiology
chemical_list: D002104:Cadmium; D000537:Aluminum Oxide