Early Actions of Cadmium in the Rat and Domestic Fowl Testis

Abstract

The location of cadmium (Cd) has been demonstrated in the testis of the mouse 16 days after injection (Berlin & Ullberg, 1963) and in the testis of the rabbit and guinea-pig 1\ m=1/ 2\ hr after injection (Skold, 1961). The arrival of 109Cd in the testis of the rat and the domestic fowl as early as 2\ m=1/ 2\ min after injection has been found (Johnson & Miller, 1970). The damaging effect of Cd in the mammalian testis and the absence of such an effect in the avian testis has been recently reviewed by Gunn & Gould (1970). This differential effect raises the question of whether location of Cd is different in the testes of these two groups of animals. In attempting to answer this question, the location of 115mCd in the testis was determined autoradiographically in representatives of these two groups of animals. Six mature male rats of the Wistar strain and six mature male Bantam domestic fowl were used as experimental animals. The rats weighed from 350 to 761 g and the domestic fowl from 776 to 1858 g.