Changes in the Visual System of Rabbit Fetuses after Thalidomide Administration

Abstract

76 eyes with appendages were obtained from rabbit fetuses whose mothers received thalidomide orally in doses of 150 and 300 mg/kg from the 7th to 16th days of pregnancy. In most fetuses, multiple deformities were observed in the extremities resembling those described after thalidomide administration by other authors. In only two fetuses, microphthalmia was observed after doses of the drug with incomplete separation, of iris, absence of sphincter and dilatator muscles, choroid coloboma and retinal dysplasia. Histological examinations disclosed changes of the external muscles of the eye with signs of congenital myopathy in 24 fetuses. In corneas of 12 fetuses, the presence of undifferentiated keratocytes was observed lying among plicated collagenous fibers.