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Effects of ultrasound on the mouse exposed at different stages of gestation: Acute studies

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Summary

At five stages of gestation, mice were exposed dorsally to ultrasonic irradiation at 1 W/cm2 (spatial and temporal average), 2 MHz, and 34 and 37° C (temperature at beginning of exposure). The results indicated that ultrasonic exposure up to at least 100 s is not hazardous to a pregnant mouse or its offspring in utero under the conditions of our experiment. Thresholds for both undesirable and lethal effects on the dam and its embryos or fetuses appeared between 100 and 200 s. Temperature rises in the uterus to more than 40° C and similarity of results obtained with continuous-wave and burst modes of irradiation suggest a thermal mechanism as one cause of these effects. Preliminary conclusions are that thresholds for both tissue damage to the dam and deleterious effects on pregnancy were similar; however, they occurred at spatial average intensity and exposure levels far in excess of those used in clinical diagnostic medicine.

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Author notes

  1. Sidney J. Stolzenberg

    Present address: Department of Pharmacology, University of California School of Medicine, 94143, San Francisco, CA

  2. Charles A. Torbit

    Present address: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Vanderbilt University, 37232, Nashville, TN

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bioengineering Research Center and Life Sciences Division, SRI International, 333 Ravenswood Avenue, 94025, Menlo Park, CA, USA

    Sidney J. Stolzenberg, Charles A. Torbit,  Peter D. Edmonds & Jon C. Taenzer

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  1. Sidney J. Stolzenberg
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  2. Charles A. Torbit
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  3. Peter D. Edmonds
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  4. Jon C. Taenzer
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Stolzenberg, S.J., Torbit, C.A., Edmonds, P.D. et al. Effects of ultrasound on the mouse exposed at different stages of gestation: Acute studies. Radiat Environ Biophys 17, 245–270 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01323651

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01323651

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