Effect of lead on erythropoietic system of intact and splenectomized rats

Erythropoietic alterations in normal and splenectomized mature male rats treated with aqueous lead acetate intraperitoneally at dosages of 4 mg/kg and 6 mg/kg body weight were observed over a period of 30 days. Significant retardation in growth might be due to gradual increases in lead toxicity. The elevated blood lead level, increased urinary delta-amino-levulinic acid (ALA-U) excretion, depletion in RBC and haemoglobin content and more number of reticulocytes in peripheral blood indicated the increased intensity of lead toxicity and inhibitory effect on haem biosynthesis. The accelerating action of lead on erythropoietic cellular series i.e. pronormoblast, early and intermediate normoblast and late normoblast was evident by the significant increase in number of cellular count both in intact and splenectomized rats after treatment with lead.