Sex Differences in Renal Toxicity of Mercury in the Rat

A PRONOUNCED sex difference was found to exist in the renal tubules of rats injected intravenously with minimally toxic doses of bichloride of mercury. Mercury, in toxic doses, produces an acute tubular necrosis in a wide variety of experimental animals and man1,2. Histologically, when minimally toxic doses are given to rats, the lesions are confined to the straight portions of the proximal tubules.