Cadmium and Teratogenesis of the Central Nervous System

Effects of cadmium on the developing embryo or fetus have been studied by many investigators since the report by Parizek in 196435 that a single maternal injection of cadmium at gestation days 17–21 resulted in a destruction of the fetal portion of the placenta and fetal death. The first published reports of cadmiuminduced teratogenesis described studies with the hamster14,15; cadmiuminduced teratogenicity was subsequently reported for the rat,1,5 and for the mouse 30,31,37–39 Using a different experimental approach, Klein et al.29 reported abnormal development of head-fold stage rat embryos cultured in vitro on serum taken from rats injected with cadmium.