{"title":"Effects of exposure to lead on the peripheral motor system of the rat. An ultrastructural study.","authors":"Mohammed H Badawoud, Sherif M Hassan","doi":"","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objective: </strong>To investigate the morphological changes in the peripheral motor system of the rat induced by exposure to lead.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>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.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>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.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>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.</p>","PeriodicalId":520723,"journal":{"name":"Neurosciences (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia)","volume":" ","pages":"52-7"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3000,"publicationDate":"2013-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Neurosciences (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia)","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"","JCRName":"","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
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.