Lead Exposure Assessment and Its Impact on the Structural Organization and Morphological Peculiarities of Rat Ovaries

Toxics. 2023 Sep 10;11(9):769. doi: 10.3390/toxics11090769.

Abstract

Lead is known to be highly toxic to humans, causing various disorders infetal development. An experiment was conducted to examine the effects of lead acetate on the structural organization of female rat ovaries. The study involved 40 non-linear female rats divided into four groups: a control group, a low-dose group, a moderate-dose group, and a high-dose group. The rats were given lead acetate solutions in varying doses for 30 days, and their ovarian tissue was examined using light microscopy.The results showed that increasing doses of lead acetate led to morphological changes in the cortex and medulla of the rat ovaries. The changes were characterized by a decrease in ovarian mass, alterations in the thickness of the tunica albuginea (protein envelope), and a reduction in the number of follicles. Light microscopy revealed that exposure to lead acetate resulted in a significant decrease in the number of follicles in all experimental groups, with the high-dose group experiencing the most significant decrease.These findings suggest that lead acetate has a dose-dependent negative impact on the morphology and function of female rat ovaries. Further studies are needed to investigate the potential impact of lead on human ovarian tissue.

Keywords: lead toxicity; light microscopy; morphology of ovaries; rat ovaries.

Grants and funding

This research received no external funding.