[Functional-morphologic features of the adrenal cortex in white rats during protracted exposure to styrene]

Experiments on rats showed that long-term styrene exposure suppresses both specific and nonspecific cell metabolic indices in different adrenocortical areas. However, the sensitivity of the different areas proved to vary under styrene exposure. This allows the suggestion that each area undergoes different degree of damage which brings about the disturbance of optimum correlations between various functions of the adrenal cortex. Administration of metapirone during the first weeks of exposure diminishes the main effect of styrene. It is concluded that one of the possible factors leading to the development of abnormalities under chronic exposure to aromatic hydrocarbons may involve the breach of the correlations between different structural components of the adrenal cortex thereby favouring the maintenance of the whole body discordance.