morphology, histopathology and hematology as biomarkers of cadmium toxicity in field rats

Background: cadmium is known as a unique heavy metal compared to others, due to its longhalf-life, low discharge from the body, toxicity at low concentrations and accumulation in tissues.methods: the effects of chronic and acute cadmium (cd) exposure were investigated on themorphology and histopathology of 24 field rats (millardia meltada). the rats were divided intotwo groups of 12 each, then sub-divided into: one control and two treatment sub-groups withcd in the feed or water. the treatment subgroups received either 15 mg/kg (low) or 30 mg/kg(high) cd concentration in the feed.results: hemorrhagic spots and fibrosis were observed in the liver of cd treated rats comparedto the controls. also, necrosis, dilation, and calcinosis occurred in the renal tubules of thetreatment groups compared to the controls. the levels of hemoglobin, red and white bloodcells, hematocrit, and mean corpuscular hemoglobin were reduced, while mean corpuscularvolume and hemoglobin concentrations were increased.conclusion: this study reports the morphological, pathological and hematologicalabnormalities in the blood, liver and kidneys of rats due to cd toxicity, which may be consideredas the biomarkers of cadmium toxicity in other experimental mammals.