Biologic effects of ultrasound on liver cells of rat embryos.

Experiments on the biologic effects of ultrasound (US) were carried out on rat embryos exposed for 120 s to a US beam showing features similar to those already employed for diagnostic purposes. Electron microscopic investigation of the liver parenchyma of rat embryos confirmed results obtained from adult guinea pigs with the same duration of exposure, i.e. diffuse vacuolization of cytoplasma and varying degrees of mitochondrial damage.