Application of the chicken embryo in testing for embryotoxicity: thiurams

A test protocol was developed for the testing of chemicals for toxicity on the chicken embryo. The protocol called for a continuous monitoring of the developing embryo for those that died before maceration. The eggs were injected on day 3, and the test was continued up to day 14 of incubation. The following parameters of embryotoxicity were used: early deaths (spanning the first 2 d after injection), late deaths with malformed embryos, late deaths with nonmalformed embryos, and malformed survivors. The order of embryotoxic potency, in descending order, among the thiurams was tetramethylthiuramdisulfide, tetramethylthiurammonosulfide, tetraethylthiuramdisulfide. It was found that late deaths were seen in 70% of the cases with malformations. The most common types of malformations were eye defects and open coeloms. Dead embryos frequently had multiple malformations. In lethal cases, embryonic development terminated at stages 25/26 and 29 on the Hamburger-Hamilton scale.