الفهرس 
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Abstract
The present study was carried out on 83 adult male albino rats. They were classified into three experimental groups (21 rats for each group) and two control groups (10 rats for each group). The first group was given 75 part per million lead acetate (75 mg/L distilled water) in drinking water. The second group was given lead acetate as in group (I) and a complex of vitamins B1, C and E at a dose of(50 mg/kg b. w., 2 g/kg b. w. and 5 mg/kg b. w. respectively). The third group was given also lead acetate as in group (I) together with succimer (meso—2,3— dirnercaptosuccinic acid) at a dose of(10 mg/kgb. w.). The fourth and fifth groups were used as a control for lead and succimer treated animals.
Clinical signs during the experiment were non-specific and insignificant. They included nervous manifestation, loss of appetite, loss of body weight and inactivity. They were more obvious in group I than the other two groups.
Clinical pathology findings included basophilic stippling of some red blood cells in many animals of group (I). Total erythrocytic count, haemoglobin concentration, haematocrit values, mean corpuscular haemoglobin and granulocytic ratio were significantly decreased in lead treated animals than contrals. Lymphocytic ratio was significantly increased in animals received lead. Enzymatic determination exhibited significant decrease in the activity D-ALAD, P5N, PHI and total thiols. These findings were lesser and insignificant in other two groups.
Post-mortum changes observed in dead and scarificed animals were generally non—specific and undetectable. They were in the form of increase the size of liver and kidneys, some enlargement of the testicles and congestion of the lungs especially in animals treated with lead.
Histopathological examination of different organs of lead treated animals revealed:
Central nervous system: Proliferation of endothelial cells, congestion, thrombosis, hemorrhages and edema as well as neuronal degeneration and necrosis were the most prominent lesions. Perivascular mononuclear cuffing, astrogliosis and microgliosis were also noticed.
Peripheral nervous system: Neural degeneration and demyelination and perineural edema and congestion were clearly observed.
Liver: Hepatic degeneration and necrosis, apoptosis, nuclear enlargement, chromatin dissolution, bile duct hyperplasia and fibroblastic activity in the portal areas were commonly observed in the liver. These were associated with congestion of blood vessels and mononuclear cellular infiltration.
Kidneys: Important lesions included tubular degeneration, nuclear enlargement and vesiculation, and presence of free iron pigment in the cytoplasm of tubular cells. There were also glomerular swelling, congestion, edema and thickening of Bowman’s capsule, congestion of blood vessels, renal casts and tubular dilation.
• Blood vessels: Prominent vascular lesions in different organs were endothelial proliferation, hypertrophy and even degeneration and necrosis, medial dystrophy and adventitial insudation.
Heart: Congestion of coronary ramifications, hemorrhages and cardiac dystrophic changes were the most prominent lesions.
Lungs: There were congestion of alveolar capillaries, hemorrhages and alveolar edema.
Spleen: Hemosicirosis and presence of free iron pigment in reticuloendothelial cells were commonly encountered.
Ultrastructural examination of liver, kidneys and blood vessels revealed:
Liver: Apoptosis of hepatocytes, hepatic vacuolation, loss of cytoplasmic matrix and some of cellular organelles and presence of many phagolysosomes as well as intranuclear lead inclusions were the prominent findings ultrastructurally seen in the hepatocytes.
Kidneys: Loss of the micovilous border of lining epithelial cells, loss of cytoplasmic matrix and some of cellular organelles, and swelling of nuclei of the renal tubular cells were the most prominent lesions.
Blood vessels: The endothelial lining cells of blood vessels appeared degenerated. Some of them were severely destructed and sloughed in the lumen.
Histopathological lesions in vitamins and succimer administered animals:
The previously mentioned lesions in different organs were very mild and some of them were indistinct, rarely observed or not found in the other two groups (vitamins and succimer treated groups).