Usually practicing veterinarians and animal keepers have to deal with inadequate supplementation of copper which causes deficiency diseases. However, instead of curing, the consequential intake of copper is likely to cause copper intoxication. Copper poisoning is observed particularly frequently, in sheep - the most sensitive domestic animal to copper toxicity. In most cases, sheep undergo chronic exposure to copper causing liver necrosis and resulting in massive haemolysis, haemoglobinuria and eventually in renal failure. The observed symptoms have an acute character and a set of them is called haemolytic crisis. The pathogenesis, signs and diagnosis of this syndrome are described in this article.
The experiment was performed on rats that were given ethanol ad libitum for 4 weeks. After decapitation of the animals, pancreatic sections were prepared for an electron microscopy. A significant broadening of the rough endoplasmic reticulum cisterns in the vesicular cells was observed as well as the presence of nuclei with irregular outlines resulted from placation of the nuclear membrane, which is worth of attention. Such a picture suggests that the examined cells had a lowered metabolic ability.
Thallium is a metal with a high rate of accumulation in the environment and at the same time there is a very large dispersion of it. Heavy metal studies and its bioaccumulation and concentration in organisms and health implications are still not well known. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the importance of this element as an intoxicant of living organisms, especially on laying hens. Four groups of ISA Brown hens were used in this study. Experimental groups received feed containing thallium as thallium sulfate (Tl₂SO₄). Concentrations and metal accumulation in the animals were determined periodically, analyzing the eggs and animal blood. After the experiment, concentrations of thallium in the tissues was determined post-mortem. The studies showed a proportional accumulation of thallium in the body of the animals in relation to exposure time, and doses with the highest concentrations in the bones, kidneys, muscles, liver, and blood.