Congenital Malformations Induced in Rats by Maternal Nutritional Deficiency
One Plate (Four Figures)
Josef Warkany and
Rose C. Nelson
The Childrens Hospital Research Foundation and the Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Ohio
1. Skeletal abnormalities occurred in about one-third of theoffspring of female rats reared and bred on Steenbock and Black'srachitogenic diet no. 2965 supplemented with viosterol (dietI).
2. Similar skeletal defects were not found in the offspringof females of the same strain reared and bred on a stock diet.
3. Similarly no such defects were observed in the offspringof females of the same strain reared and bred on diet II, adiet which differs from diet I in that it contains 2% driedpig liver and only 1% of calcium carbonate.
4. The defectswere also absent in the offspring of femalesreared and bredon diet I supplemented by 2% pig liver only(diet VI).
5.If in diet I the calcium carbonate content was reduced from3 to 1% only about one-tenth of the offspring showed abnormalitiesof the pattern of diet I.
6. By alternately breeding the samefemale on diets I and II,abnormal and normal litters couldbe produced alternately.
7. The same pattern of abnormalitieswas obtained in the offspringof rats of two different strainsreared and bred on diet I.
8. Apparently a nutritional factorthat is absent or inadequatein diet I and present in liverin large amounts is necessaryfor the normal intra-uterine developmentof the rat.