[Structural changes of rat myocardium in the mother-fetus system exposed to cadmium].

Myocardium structure and the pattern of cardiomyocyte cellular and intracellular changes were studied in rats following the exposure of the mother-fetus system to cadmium. Rats were intraperitoneally injected with cadmium sulfate during days 1-16 of pregnancy. Myocardium of the left ventricle was studied in pregnant females and fetuses on day 20 of gestation. Myocardium changes in cadmium-exposed animals included the reduction of cardiomyocyte and blood vessels relative volume in mother and fetus. The damage of the nuclear and nucleolar apparatus was detected, together with the signs of diffuse edema of cardiomyocyte myofibrils and dilatation of intercellular spaces within the myocardium. This changes in cadmium-exposed animals are indicative of the development of regenerative-plastic myocardium insufficiency in the mother-fetus system.