Pregnancy and Trace Elements: The Protective Effect of Compounds of an Essential Trace Element--Selenium--Against the Peculiar Toxic Effects of Cadmium During Pregnancy

One single injection of cadmium salts, in a dose sufficient to produce complete testicular necrosis (Pařízek & Záhoř, 1956; Pařízek, 1957, 1960) results, when administered to pregnant rats, in a complete destruction of the foetal part of the placentae and death of the foetuses (Pařízek, 1964). The placental damage is specific for cadmium and a constant phenomenon already at earlier stages of pregnancy; however, in addition to this, during the last 4 days of pregnancy of rats the pathologic changes in the placentae and foetuses are accompanied by additional pathologic changes affecting the maternal organism: during the last 4 days of pregnancy the administration of cadmium salts—in a dose well tolerated by non-gravid or post-partum rats—is highly lethal not only for foetuses but for a very high proportion of pregnant rats, producing here pathologic changes specific for this period of pregnancy and quite unusual for cadmium intoxication in non-gravid