Effect of Amytal upon the Fetus and its Transmission Through Placenta of White Rat.

The widespread use of sodium amytal in obstetrics and in animal experimentation, where observations upon the fetuses are to be made, has necessitated a study of the placental transmission of this anesthetic. A review of the literature shows that there is general agreement that there is no danger to the fetus when the mother is anesthetized with this drug.Our experiments were divided into 2 main groups: (1) those showing the effect upon the fetuses of anesthesia of the mother with sodium amytal, and (2) experiments showing the effect upon mothers of injections of this same anesthetic into the fetuses. In the first group, pregnant white rats were completely anesthetized with a 2% solution of sodium amytal. The anesthetic dose used was 80 mg. per kilo of body weight minus the estimated weight of the fetuses. It was found that the dose of sodium amytal calculated from the total weight of the pregnant animal proved lethal for the mother in 60% of the cases, but doses calculated from the weight of the mother mi...