Pulmonary Changes in the Lungs of Wistar Rats Exposed to X-Ray Film Developer Solutions

X-ray film developer solution fumes can be injurious when inhaled or ingested. This experimental study investigated the histological changes in the lungs of wistar rats exposed to varying concentrations of x-ray film developer solutions.
Fifteen apparently healthy wistar rats weighing between 209g and 210g were put in three groups A-C of 5rats each. Groups A and B served as the experimental groups while group C was the control group. The rats in the experimental groups were exposed to varying concentrations of the x-ray film developer solution fumes for periods ranging from 15-30days (1st -30th July, 2014) while the rats in the control group were not. At the end of each desired period, a rat from each group was randomly selected, painlessly sacrificed and the lungs harvested and sent to the Medical Laboratory Sciences department of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University for examination and analysis.
The findings showed histological changes of tissue injury evidenced by macrophage infiltration, distortion of interstitial tissue architecture, thickening of basement membrane, tissue fibrosis and formation of pleomorphic nuclei which are inflammatory responses indicating cellular injuries. The observed histological changes increased with the concentration of the developer solution and the duration of exposure to the developer solution. When these changes are extrapolated to a 70kg human subject, these histological changes would manifest within twenty-five year of exposure