[Adrenergic innervation of the myocardium in rats with toxic exposures].

Chronic intraperitoneal injection of cadmium and copper salts produces cardiotoxic effects of various degree. The degree of the muscular tissue lesion in the ventricles and atria is inverse to the number of luminescent nervous terminals. Changes in the adrenergic fibers are accompanied with certain metabolic shifts in the muscular tissue of the heart; this is evident from decreasing succinate dehydrogenase activity in cardiomyocytes and accumulation of lipids. Certain disorders are also revealed in cardiomyocytes, in vessels and in interstitial connective tissue demonstrated as: plethora, phenomena of stasis in the capillary bed, moderate perivascular edema, myocardial dystrophy. The foci of lesions are found more often in the left ventricle in myocardial tissue and under epicardium, sometimes near plethoric vessels and less often in the right ventricle and in the atria. The dependence between location of the myocardial lesions and vascular disorders is not always noted. This is observed more often under effect of cadmium sulfate and, evidently, is dependent not only on hypoxia, connected with congestive plethora, but with neurohumoral influences, too.