P568

Arch Environ Health 1972 Apr;24(4):281-7

Experimental Lung Silicosis

Evolution of Functional, Biochemical, and Morphological Changes in the Rat

Magdalena Kuncová, MD; Jaroslava Havránhouá, PhD; and

Lubomír Kunc, MD, Ostrava, Czechoslovakia; and Radim Holuša, MD; and

František Paleček, MD, PhD, Praha

   In 57 silicotic and 44 control rats, functional, biochemical, and histological measurements of the lungs were performed during four months of developing silicosis. Pulmonary silicosis was produced by a single intratracheal injection of 50 mg of quartz dust. Among the earliest changes were a significant decrease in arterial oxygen partial pressure, a decrease in lung compliance, and an increase of thoracic gas volume one month after dusting. These were accompanied by corresponding changes in lung weight, in hydroxyproline content, and in the histological appearance of the lungs. Four months after dusting the silicotic rats differed significantly in all measured factors from the controls. The picture of fully developed functional, biochemical, and morphological changes in rat silicosis was identical with that described earlier.