Fetal Death and Maldevelopment Resulting from Maternal Vitamin A Deficiency in the Rat. ∗

Summary

This report constitutes a confirmation of the original experiments of Warkany and co-workers in which congenital malformations were induced in fetal and newborn rats by maintaining the mothers on vitamin A deficient diets. In addition, a method has been standardized which permits prior recognition of imminent death and resorption of the conceptuses, thereby making it possible to collect many severely malformed fetuses that would otherwise be destroyed in utero. Three criteria that proved reliable in anticipating prenatal destruction of fetuses were: 1) the presence of more than 25% of cornified cells in the vaginal smear at any time during pregnancy; 2) the presence of blood in the vaginal smear in excess of or at times other than that comprising the usual placental sign; and 3) a loss of weight by the mother after the 10th day of pregnancy.

Malformations involving the eye, cardiovascular system, and genitourinary tract were found in the fetuses or newborns from all but one of the pregnancies from which intact offspring were obtained after the 14th day of gestation.