الفهرس 
introOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
 |  | from | 127 |  |  |
| | | from | 127 | | |
Abstract
Insecticides and other pesticides occupy a unique position among the many chemicals that man, pets and farm animals encounter daily, in that, they are deliberately added to the environment for the purpose of killing or injuring some forms of life. The greatly increased agricultural uses of insecticides beside their vital role in public health have introduced serious and novel hazards to man and livestock. Unfortunately, most of these insecticides are not highly selective, but are generally toxic to many non target species, including man and other desirable forms of life that coinhabit the environment. Moreover, some of these chemicals are stable after application, persist for years as toxic compounds and environmental pollutants. Studies have shown that, prolonged exposure to these contaminants causes chronic or persistent neurologic syndrome, immunosuppressive effects, malignant tumours, teratogenic and mutagenic effects, abortion and reproductive failure Cannon and Kimbro ugh (‘1979) and Nafstad et aL (1983).
Insecticide contaminants adversely affect reproductive functions by both their direct cellular toxic action and by interfering indirectly with hypothalamo-hypophyseal control functions (Shternberg and Rybakova, 1963 and krause, 1977).
In Egypt, the use of insecticides is very risky because of the huge amounts of insecticides handled, the lack of proper protective measures during handling and application, and the loose control on the residues of such insecticides in water, air, soil and food stuffs.
Consequently, the aim of the present work is to gain some insight into changes or alterations that may occur in the seminiferous epithelium of albino rat testes and to assess the susceptibility of different testicular structures following “ekalux” insecticide exposure. Light microscopic studies which were extended by electron microscopic studies were performed to examine the ultrastructural changes that might occur on repeated oral gavage of ‘tekaux” and for different periods.