Abstract
It has been reported that mercury was contained in the tissue of, and eggs laid by hens fed experimentaly seed grains treated with methyl mercury dicyandiamide (1, 2). In the field, it has also been pointed out the remarkably high mercury contents in seed-eating birds, such as pheasants, and predatory animals living on such birds, suggesting that it may be explained by the existence of alkyl mercury treated seed grains left in the field at the sowing time (3). In 1967, Teining (4) reviewed the pharmacological effect of methyl mercury dicyandiamide on the fowl Gallus gallus L. Some other investigators also studied the retention and movement of organic mercury compounds and their transfer to eggs in birds (5, 6).
The autoradiographic technique is one of the most useful methods to examine the body distribution of radioactive substances (7, 8). This technique has been employed actually to study the distribution of several radioactive compounds in the mouse and other small mammals (9-11), but not in any in the fowls.
The present paper reports a retention and movements of inorganic mercury, in the form of 203Hg-mercuric nitrate, and its transfer to egg in laying quail using a whole-body autoradiographic and radioisotope tracer techniques.
