Contemporary Issues in Toxicology: A New Frontier in Understanding the Mechanismsof Developmental Abnormalities

摘要

The paper reviews some of the important issues that may lead to understandingbasic developmental processes and mechanisms by which toxic agents may interfere with normal and abnormal development. Approximately 70% of developmental defects are of unknown etiology. Historically, it has been assumed that these defects were most likely to be induced by exposure to chemical or physical agents during organogenesis. There is now convincing evidence that exposure during preorganogenesis developmental stages to certain agents can also lead to fetal abnormalities as a result of direct damage to the exposed early conceptus. Thus,