Abstract
Summary
Placental transport of lead in the guinea pig was measured by perfusing the fetal circulation of placentas (at 60 days of gestation) in situ. The clearance of lead from mother to fetus was linearly related to umbilical flow rate and measured 0.047 ± 0.004 ml/min at an umbilical flow rate of 2.5 ml/min. Our data indicate that lead crosses the placenta from the maternal circulation to the fetal circulation at a lower clearance rate than either cadmium or methylmercury but at a greater rate than inorganic mercury.
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