[A comparative study of the cytogenetic effect of a series of phosphoorganic pesticides].

A comparative study of the effect of 12 organophosphorus pesticides on mice was carried out. A statistically significant increase of the frequency of aberrant metaphases in bone-marrow cells of mice was induced by dipterex, metaphos, phosphamidon and imidan. No correlation between the toxicity and the mutagenic activity of the compounds studied was observed. The pesticides studied can be regarded as substances with a slight cytogenetic activity with respect to animals.