Abstract
Summary
1. Digitoxin, and possibly its metabolic products, crosses the placenta of rats and guinea pigs. 2. Larger amounts of both unchanged digitoxin and its metabolites were found in the fetuses of guinea pigs than in the fetuses of rats. 3. Embryonic tissue may have a marked ability to catabolize the drug, or there may be a selective penetration of the metabolites across the placenta, as noted by its high metabolite-digitoxin ratio. 4. On a tissue weight basis, digitoxin and its metabolites were found in higher concentrations in the embryonic heart than in the maternal heart.
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