ISSN:
1432-0738
Keywords:
Trialkylphosphorothioates
;
Rat
;
Lung
;
Ultrastructure
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Medicine
Notes:
Abstract Various trialkylphosphorothioates occur as impurities in many organophosphorus pesticides. In addition to the immediate, cholinergic symptoms usually associated with the toxicity of organophosphorus compounds an oral LD50 dose of O,S,S-trimethyl phosphorodithioate or O,O,S-triethyl phosphorothioate to rats, resulted in the delayed development of lung lesions and often death within 4 days. This study attributes the late crisis to impaired lung function resulting from massive alveolar oedema and cellular responses to the selective destruction of type I pneumocytes. Proliferation of type II pneumocytes produced an epithelium of very large cells which resulted in a thick blood/alveolus barrier and also occluded much of the alveolar lumen. Debris from the type I pneumocytes was liberated into the alveolar lumen resulting in leukocytic infiltration of the interstitial tissue and an increase in the number of alveolar macrophages. The lung morphology of animals surviving the crisis period returned to normal within a further 4 days with the transformation of many hypertrophic type II pneumocytes into type I alveolar lining cells.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00279323
