title: [Toxic effect of chemical pollution in lower and upper silesia on morpho-chemical differentiation of human placentae].
abstract: Monitoring of the environmental chemical pollution in southern Poland from 1994 to 1996 involved histochemical studies of 71 human term placentae collected in the Low Silesian Legnica-Głogów Copper Region and in Upper Silesian Industrial Region. Control placentae were obtained from weakly polluted eastern Carpathian regions (Bieszczady). The studies were aimed at comparing the effect of regions of long and short industrialization periods on structure and enzyme activities of placentae taken from healthy non-smoking women. The chemical pollution of both the industrial environments decreased the oxidative enzyme activity, particularly that of cytochrome c oxidase in the villous trophoblast. This resulted in a compensatory augmented number of placental villi below 30.5 microns in diameter which expanded the mother-child exchange area and in a decreased proportion of larger villi. The statistically significant compensatory changes in villous proportions were more pronounced in the recently industrialized Low Silesian region. In all Silesian placentae abundance of mineral deposits was found. The Silesian neonates showed a noteworthy though statistically insignificant birth weight decrease.
authors.affiliation: Zakład Cytobiologii i Histochemii Collegium Medicum UJ.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zadrozna
mesh_terms: D001724:Birth Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV / Q000378:metabolism; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D010920:Placenta / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000473:pathology; D011044:Poland; D012016:Reference Values; D014327:Trophoblasts / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D003576:Electron Transport Complex IV