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ASSESSMENT OF CLINICAL PROCEDURES TO EVALUATE LIVER INTOXICATION IN FISH
Citation:
Gingerich, W. AND L. Weber. ASSESSMENT OF CLINICAL PROCEDURES TO EVALUATE LIVER INTOXICATION IN FISH. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/3-79/088.
Description:
Procedures were developed to clinically evaluate liver damage and liver function in rainbow trout following either acute intraperitoneal (i.p.) treatment or subacute bath exposure to selected mammalian hepatotoxic agents. Elevations in serum of liver specific enzymes such as aspartate aminotransferase (GOT), alanine aminotransferase (GPT) and alkaline phosphatase (AP) were investigated as potential indicators of hepatocellular damage. An exogenous test of liver function, plasma clearance of the organic anion sulfobromophthalein (BSP), also was investigated as a potentially useful test of overall liver function in the trout. The application of clinical tests to diagnose liver dysfunction in fishes following their exposure to environmental toxicants may be practical in controlled laboratory facilities. Despite the considerable variation that exists between groups of fish, significant differences could be demonstrated between control and treated fish. Variation among groups of fish make intergroup comparison of the field populations increasingly difficult by these methods. Therefore, the use of such techniques should be employed to evaluate liver toxicity under precisely controlled laboratory studies. Their application to field studies does not seem advisable.