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PERMEABILITY OF THE SYRIAN HAMSTER PLACENTA TO MANGANOUS IONS DURING EARLY EMBRYOGENESIS

Departments of Pharmacology & Toxicology and Anatomy & Cytology, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755, U.S.A.

(Received 13th November 1974)

Manganese is an essential trace element in the living system. It is invariably present in its ionic form and is known to participate in a number of biological systems (Cotzias, 1958). Relatively high levels of manganese are required to manifest toxicity. Rats fed massive doses of manganese (1·73% of the dry diet) show decreased intestinal absorption of calcium and phosphorus (Chornock, Gerrant & Dutcher, 1942). Lambs on a high manganese diet had low liver iron levels and reduced haemoglobin formation (Hartman, Matrone & Wise, 1955). Chronic manganese poisoning, characterized by neurological and psychiatric disorders, is seen among workers handling manganese ores and apparently results from inhalation of manganese oxide dusts (von Oettingen, 1935).

Deficiency of the element in animals causes growth retardation, bone abnormalities, degenerative changes in the central nervous and reproductive