[Dominant lethal test in mice with repeated application of cadmium chloride]

Reported in this paper are results obtained from a dominant lethal test, following five-day application of CdCl2 (0,3 and 30 mg/kg) to mice. An effort has been made to enhance the informative value of the test by combining histological with teratological examinations. Average loss per female was increased (r < 0,05) in the mating intervals between the 31st and 35th as well as the 36th and 40th days (30 mg/kg) and between the 45th and 48th days after treatment (3.0 and 30 mg/kg). Severe retardation as well as an exencephalocele and histologically detectable changes in the semilunal tubules were some of the conspicuous findings. The coincidence in time of the above phenomena has been considered as evidence to at least moderately mutagenic action of cadmium chloride.