[The stage-specific sensitivity of rat embryogenesis to ethanol administered intra-amniotically and by other methods]

The exposure of rat fetuses to ethanol by direct intra-amniotic injection in the afternoon of the 14th day of embryogenesis resulted in developmental anomalies (34%), the defects located mostly in the left extremities. Intraperitoneal injections of ethanol at the same period of pregnancy resulted in analogous injuries but only in occasional fetuses. There was no embryotoxic effect after exposure to high doses of ethanol by per os. It was concluded that even a single dose of ethanol in certain periods of pregnancy and in certain homeostasis disorders in the maternal organism could induce the fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) in the newborns.