Vitamin Requirements of Nursing Young. X. Effect of a Deficiency of Vitamin B Complex and Vitamin B on Histological Changes in Liver of Nursing Young of Albino Rat. ∗

Abstract

A total of 303 animals were employed for this work, 156 on control diets, 67 on a maternal diet deficient in the vitamin B complex, 1 and 80 on a maternal diet deficient in vitamin B. 2 The fixatives used were Bouins and formalin. A number of tissues were stained with Delafield's hematoxylin and eosin while others were stained with iron alum hematoxylin and eosin. Frozen sections were also made of a representative number of the livers and stained with Sudan III.

Compared with the controls, the majority of the nursing young whose mothers received a diet deficient in the vitamin B complex showed fatty metamorphosis of the liver, as indicated by marked vacuolation. The fact that there was an actual increase in the weights of the livers of such pathological nurslings as well as considerable increase in the weight of liver in proportion to the body weight of such nursing young, suggests that the pathological condition encountered is fatty infiltration rather than fatty degeneration. On the other hand, the nursing young suffering from uncomplicated vitamin B deficiency showed no demonstrable fatty metamorphosis in the liver.